Virat Kohli has mentored the cricket community: Marcus Stoinis

Marcus Stoinis praised Virat Kohli, his former colleague with the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), for inspiring young cricket players worldwide.

The Australian all-rounder, who plays for Punjab Kings (PBKS) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025, praised Kohli for joining a star-studded Indian club early on and leading them to remarkable success.

“We’ve been acquainted for a while. In Perth, we have a mutual buddy who has also known him for a very long time. That was the beginning of that connection, in a sense. However, what a fantastic career it has been thus far. India Today cited Stoinis as adding, “It’s definitely not finished.”

“It seems like he’s worn a few caps throughout his career in terms of being the young guy coming into an Indian team that forced his way in there at such a young age and showed such confidence in himself to crack into such a good team to then leading the team and almost changing the whole culture of Indian cricket and inspiring a lot of the young cricketers around India and around the world,” he said.

The 36-year-old is still among the world’s fittest cricket players, the star player added, highlighting Virat Kohli amazing fitness journey.

He also sparked a whole new phase of the fitness industry, which is currently mentoring the newest kids on the block after inspiring the Indian setup. He now has his family as well. All of those stages, in my opinion, have been beneficial to him personally as well as to the cricket community and the general public as mentors. So, to be honest, I always give him credit,” he continued.

It’s amazing to witness the fearlessness of Indian cricket players: Marcus Stoinis

Along with praising Indian cricket’s quality, Stoinis noted that the IPL has given young players an excellent opportunity to demonstrate their exceptional abilities and push themselves under duress.

“In Indian cricket, there is a lot of depth here.” There has always been. Additionally, I believe they are having the opportunity to showcase their abilities on a global platform. They exude confidence. They have had the benefit of almost growing up with the IPL, as they have been under pressure since the beginning of their careers. “It’s amazing to witness their courage in playing cricket, particularly when representing the Indian team,” Stoinis remarked.

In the IPL 2025, both RCB and PBKS have gotten off to strong starts. Bengaluru crushed the Kolkata Knight Riders by seven wickets, while Punjab upset the Gujarat Titans by eleven runs.