IPL 2025 ka junoon chhaya hua hai, aur iss beech RCB ke legendary batter Virat Kohli ne apne IPL ke shuruaati dino ke baare mein dil se baat ki. Kohli ne reveal kiya ki unka pehla season kaafi intimidating tha aur unhone pressure mehsoos kiya tha.
“Jab maine pehli baar IPL khela, main poori tarah se awe mein tha. Mujhe team mein zyada log jaante nahi the—sirf Zaheer Khan aur Yuvraj Singh se North Zone ke dino mein mulaqat hui thi. Dressing room mein Anil Kumble aur Rahul Dravid jaise legends ke saath rehna ek fantasy jaisa lagta tha. Lekin excitement ke saath ek alag hi pressure bhi tha. Mujhe pata tha ki mera game abhi unke level tak nahi pahucha hai, aur mujhe apne aap ko prove karna tha. Yeh pressure first season mein mujh par bhaari pad gaya. Phir bhi, yeh ek unforgettable experience tha,”
Kohli ne yeh baat JioHotstar par Delhi Capitals ke khilaf clash se pehle kahi.
Kohli ne ye bhi bataya ki pehle teen seasons mein unhe top order mein batting ka mauka nahi milta tha, jiska impact unki performance par padta tha. South Africa mein hua 2009 ka season unke liye thoda behtar tha.
“Pehle 3 saal RCB ke liye main mostly lower order mein aata tha. Mujhe consistently top order mein khelne ka mauka nahi mila. Kabhi-kabhi impactful knocks maar deta tha, lekin IPL ko crack nahi kar paya. 2009 mein South Africa ke pitches mere game ko suit karte the, ball bat pe aachhi tarah aa rahi thi. 2010 ke baad main consistent hone laga aur 2011 mein number 3 position milne lagi. Wahi se mera asli IPL journey shuru hua,”
Kohli ne bataya.
IPL ke dynamic nature ke baare mein bhi Kohli ne insight diya. Unhone bataya ki IPL ka format players ko mentally aur competitively push karta hai, aur is wajah se unka T20 game bhi evolve hua hai.
“IPL ka structure hi alag hai. Bilateral series jaise nahi hota—ye weeks tak chalta hai aur points table par tumhari position baar-baar badalti rehti hai. Agar top pe ho toh pressure hota hai lead maintain karne ka, agar neeche ho toh comeback karne ka motivation chahiye. Aur agar beech mein ho, toh har match ka pressure double ho jata hai. Is dynamic nature ne mujhe mentally tough banaya hai aur T20 game mein better hone ke liye push kiya hai,”
Kohli ne kaha.
April 7 ko Kohli ne ek aur milestone achieve kiya, jab unhone 13,000 T20 runs complete kar liye—wo pehle Indian batter hain jinhone yeh number touch kiya. Ab jab RCB Axar Patel ki Delhi Capitals se takrayegi, Kohli ke paas mauka hoga ki wo T20 ke all-time top 5 run-scorers mein aur upar chale jayein.
