Apos;I Love Pressure It Makes You More Focused apos;: Virat Kohli On Being Indian Cricket apos;s Biggest Star

'I love pressure, it makes you more focused': Virat Kohli on being Indian cricket's biggest star
By [/home/search.html?s=&authornamef=Mail+Today+Reporter Mail Today Reporter]
Published: 00:38 BST, 25 March 2012 | Updated: 03:03 BST, 25 March 2012
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Joy: Virat Kohli enjoys meeting children and soon hopes to release a book to inspire youngsters

After conquering the cricket grounds of Australia and Bangladesh, Virat Kohli is now on a mission to conquer hearts as well.




On Saturday, the Delhi batsman was unveiled as the ambassador for the International Cricket Council's partnership with Room to Read, an educational non-profit organisation, when he visited an MCD school in Andrews Ganj and met underprivileged kids.




According to an ICC release, Virat, who joins Aussie Shane Watson and Sri Lankan Angelo Mathews as ambassador, will star in a book to be published and released ahead of the World Twenty20 in Sri Lanka later this year.




Speaking on the occasion, Kohli said: 'I am excited about the opportunity to support the partnership between ICC and Room to Read to encourage children to read.


'I really enjoyed meeting children who have benefited (and) I am looking forward to working on the development of a book for children which will be published in Hindi and Telugu.'


When the conversation turned to his onfield exploits, which have of late made him the biggest star in the Indian team, Kohli said it was an ability to revel in pressure that was the key to his success.




'As a kid, I used to see how Sachin Tendulkar used to win matches under pressure for India in Sharjah or other places. So I was always keen to repeat the same in similar situations.


'I don't take pressure on myself when I am in the middle.
I love pressure and I always believe that pressure makes you more focused. Walking in (to bat) for India always means pressure,' he said. Kohli agreed the tour to Australia had been a turning point for him.


'I knew it was going to be a make or break tour for me.

I knew it would be mentally very challenging. I had always seen on television how intense it was to play there.



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'You definitely need a lot of character and I was actually ready for it.

I was pretty happy with the way things happened there and it has been a turning point for me,' the 23-year-old said.


Kohli admitted he had had to concentrate hard to turn his fortunes around after a slow start in the first two Tests.
'It was tough initially. My problem was that I was reading a lot of stuff and paying too much attention on the things being said.

Winner: Virat Kohli says he uses pressure to bring out his best performances

After the first two Tests, people were actually saying 'drop him, he doesn't deserve to play in the XI'.

But in Perth, I realised that I need to have agame plan, because I had scored eight ODI hundreds till then and that can't just be a fluke. I told myself I can do well in Tests too.


That worked for me,' Kohli said. Asked about his on field outbursts that give him a 'bad boy' image, Kohli said: 'Look, the outburst happened in Australia once after my century in Adelaide, and now again against Pakistan because I was not able to do well against them in my previous three outings.

I was really keen to do well against Pakistan and that really pumped me up.'


On being asked how he relaxed after games, Kohli said: 'I get calls from home and my mother or brother sometimes do try and talk about the game.




'I always tell them not to talk about cricket and they too have realised this now and talk about things other than the game.'


On the subject of reading books, https://playersintroduction.bookmark.com/sachin-tendulkar-wife-biography Kohli said he had recently read the autobiography of a legend.

'I've read 'Open' by Andre Agassi.


But now I want to read Ayrton Senna's biography, which my friend in Johannesburg is going to gift to me soon. So I am looking forward to reading that,' he said.