“A brash young Delhi boy to an evolved human being” – Robin Uthappa on witnessing Virat Kohli’s growth

Virat Kohli’s cricketing journey has been a roller-coaster ride. Former Indian batter Robin Uthappa has shed light on Kohli’s career and said the talisman has become an evolved human being from being a brash young Delhi boy.

Kohli also saw a huge dip in his career from 2020 to 2022 but he was able to get out of the hole. Uthappa reckons Kohli is reaping the rewards for his hard work at the top level.

Kohli’s hunger for runs and improving his game is insatiable and he plays with a lot of passion and grit. 

Robin Uthappa said in an interview with cricket.com, “I have actually seen Virat kind of evolve from a brash young Delhi boy to an evolved human being. You know the evolution has been quite tremendous, to be honest. Today he’s practically reaping what he had sown 15 years ago.”

“One of the things that has always stood out to me about Cheeku has been his conviction in himself,” he added. “When I listen to a young 19-year-old Virat Kohli, you know talking about himself or his conviction in himself, you’ll get mortified, you’ll be like ‘What is this dude talking about?’. “But fast forward 10 years and you be like ‘Okay now that makes sense.'”

Uthappa hailed Kohli for walking the talk and recalled an incident when the linchpin hit the gym right after completing an interview with RCB in the IPL.

“A lot of these things is all fluff and no stuff, but Virat showed us that there was stuff behind the talk as well. He is obsessed. I remember went last year to interview some of the RCB boys, and finished his interview, and then the next thing you know that he’s in the gym, and he doesn’t need to be, but he was there in the gym, hashing out an hour-long workout before he went back and spent time with his family.”

Virat Kohli announced his T20I retirement after India lifted the T20 World Cup. Kohli scored a match-winning knock of 76 runs off 59 balls in the all-important final against South Africa.