From ‘chole-bhature’ to family on tours: Virat Kohli opens up at RCB summit

Which is Virat Kohli’s favourite chole-bhature spot in Delhi?

For the cricket buffs, it may not be relevant. And India’s star batter, too, thinks so.

At the recent Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s Innovation Lab Indian Sports Summit, Kohli urged the broadcasters to keep the discussions limited to cricket and the players. “A broadcast show needs to talk about the game and not what I ate yesterday for lunch or my favourite chole-bhature place in Delhi. You can’t have that in cricket matches. Rather, you could talk about what an athlete is going through,” Kohli said.

The 36-year-old spoke candidly about the controversy over taking families on tours, talks about retirement, and more. Excerpts:

‘Don't want to go to room, sit alone and sulk’

Recently, BCCI issued a diktat that for a tournament lasting more than 45 days, a player’s family can stay only for 14 days. And for shorter tours, the stay will be limited to seven days. Expectedly, it did not go down too well with the cricketers.

Kohli addressed the matter head-on at the summit. “The role of family is very difficult to explain to people - how grounding it is to just come back to your family every time you have something which is intense, which happens on the outside.

“I don't want to go to my room and just sit alone and sulk. I want to be able to be normal. Then you can really treat your game as something that is a responsibility. I won't miss any opportunities to go out and spend time with my family whenever I can,” he said.

Kohli also pointed out that “people with no real connection with such issues” are involved in discussions in such matters, and that if a player’s opinion is sought, he will definitely want his family to be around him.

‘Not ready to retire’

Ruling out that he will be retiring soon, Kohli said he may not have another tour of Australia left in him. This after India were humbled 1-3 in the five-match Test series Down Under.

He reminded all of his dismal run in England in 2014 where he made 134 runs, while talking about his poor run in the series against Australia. But he added that he was still enjoying the game. "Me playing the game is not for achievements. It pretty much comes down to the pure joy and enjoyment and love for the game. As long as that love is intact, I'll continue to play the game. I have to be honest about that with myself."

‘Being an Olympic champion will be magnificent’

Expressing happiness over cricket’s inclusion in Los Angeles Olympics 2028, Kohli credited the Indian Premier League for making cricket a global sport.

"To be Olympic champion would be an absolutely magnificent feeling. The IPL has definitely played a massive role in that as well. Now, it has gotten us to a stage where it's part of the Olympics. It's a great opportunity for some of our guys. The athletes will be able to taste it. First of its kind. And I'm sure we'll be somewhere close to that medal. Both men and women play side by side as well," he said.

Though Kohli will be unlikely to take part in it, he jokingly said that if India are playing in the gold medal match, he “might sneak in for one game, get a medal and come back home”!