"At that time, fan clubs did not exist...": Virat Kohli opens up on starting his international career

Virat, who is currently playing for RCB in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024, was speaking at a social event recently, of which some viral video clips have emerged on social media.

Virat said that when he was starting his international career back in 2008, social media and fan clubs were not around that much and players had to rely on their skills. During those days, players used to get very few chances to prove themselves at the international level and being aware of it, he made the most of his chances.

He also said that the message to the future stars of Indian cricket is to recognise the opportunity and platform they get and respect it.

"Every era has its own transition, though we (he and senior players) often talk about this. Sometimes, when you have a lot of opportunities, you do not recognise the magnitude of those opportunities. During our time, we knew that we had only 4-5 matches to prove ourselves. At that time, fan clubs did not exist," Kohli said.

"This social media stuff was non-existent. You were only and only dependent on your skill. That is how we have grown up. If I do not perform, no one is going to keep me there just because my supporters feel I am a good player, or there can be a narrative in the public or in the media."

"That is how we have been groomed. That is the message we try to pass forward [to the youngsters]--recognise what platform you are getting and be respectful of it," Kohli concluded his point.

Virat also revealed that youngsters Ishan and Shubman are very close friends and are inseparable during tours. He went on to call them as the 'Sita-Gita' of the team.

"Sita-Gita, Ishan aur Shubman. Pata nahi kya chakkar hai bhai, mai bol nahi sakta zyada cheezein lekin.... Dono bohot ache dost hain. Basically, voh akele nahi reh sakte tour pe. To, khana khane bulalo, saath me aayenge, baat karne bulalo saath me hi aayenge. Kabhi maine dekha hi nahi ki voh akele ho. Lekin genuinely, bohot ache dost hain," said Virat. (Ishan and Shubman are really good friends. Basically, they cannot stay alone on tours. If you invite them to eat, they will come together, invite them for a chat, they will come together only. I have never seen them alone and apart. But genuinely, they are great friends.)

Meanwhile, both Virat and Rohit Sharma will be locking horns against each other as RCB will be taking on the Mumbai Indians (MI) at Wankhede Stadium on Thursday.

Virat is the leading run-scorer in the IPL 2024, scoring 316 runs in five matches at an average of 105.33 and a strike rate of over 146, with a century and two fifties. His best score is 113*.

While MI opened their account after three losses with a win over Delhi Capitals (DC), RCB aims to overcome a three-match losing streak, succumbing to Rajasthan Royals (RR) in their last encounter. Virat's team, RCB, is off to a poor start in the IPL this year, having won only one out of their five matches so far.

Royal Challengers Bangalore Squad: Virat Kohli, Faf du Plessis(c), Rajat Patidar, Glenn Maxwell, Cameron Green, Dinesh Karthik(w), Saurav Chauhan, Reece Topley, Mayank Dagar, Mohammed Siraj, Yash Dayal, Himanshu Sharma, Suyash Prabhudessai, Mahipal Lomror, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Swapnil Singh, Karn Sharma, Tom Curran, Lockie Ferguson, Alzarri Joseph, Will Jacks, Anuj Rawat, Manoj Bhandage, Akash Deep, Rajan Kumar

Mumbai Indians Squad: Rohit Sharma, Ishan Kishan(w), Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya(c), Tim David, Romario Shepherd, Mohammad Nabi, Piyush Chawla, Gerald Coetzee, Jasprit Bumrah, Akash Madhwal, Kwena Maphaka, Naman Dhir, Nehal Wadhera, Shams Mulani, Shreyas Gopal, Luke Wood, Vishnu Vinod, Arjun Tendulkar, Kumar Kartikeya, Shivalik Sharma, Anshul Kamboj, Nuwan Thushara, Dewald Brevis. (ANI)