(Cricket News) Virat Kohli spoke about his break from cricket, as he was in a paternity leave for a period of two months. He termed his time away from game as a ‘surreal experience’ and said that it was an ‘amazing experience to just be another person on the road’.
Kohli scored a brilliant half-century, a 49-ball 77 in RCB’s game against the Punjab Kings at the Chinnaswamy stadium in Bengaluru. He was awarded with the player of the match for his innings. While speaking to Harsha Bhogle, he reflected on his time away from all the spotlight with his family in a place where nobody actually recognised him.
Kohli, for the birth of his second child missed the entirety of the five match India-England test series at home. He was away from the sport and spent time with his family. “We were not in the country. We were at a place where people were not recognising us. Just time together as a family, just to feel normal for two months,” Kohli said. “For me, for us as a family, it was a surreal experience.
“Of course, having two kids, things become totally different from a family perspective. So just the ability to be together, the connections that you make with your older child, it’s amazing. I mean, I couldn’t have been more grateful to God for the opportunity that I got to spend time with my family.
“And yeah, just the place that we were in, I was telling the guys that when we came back, the voices back home felt that much louder. I couldn’t look up because I was just not used to being called my name for two months. And then immediately you hear these loud noises and then you’re back in it all again. But it was beautiful.”
On his return to cricket, Kohli looked a bit rusty in the first game of the IPL 2024, scoring a run-a-ball 21, but soon found his groove in the 2nd game against the PBKS. After being reprieved on 0 by Jonny Bairstow, he dusted off any remaining cobwebs in his game with a superlative chasing performance. He also became only the third player to register his 100 50+ score in T20 cricket.
Kohli also had something to say on him being considered just as a promoter of the game aroung the globe. He said, “I know my name is now attached to just promoting the game in different parts of the world when it comes to T20 cricket. But I’ve still got it I guess. That’s the promise I can give here – I’ll keep turning up and keep trying my best.”
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