Virat Kohli describes his journey towards excellence 

#1 A legend was born

The 'butterfly' moment came in April 1998, nine-year-old when Virat was watching cricket with his father on the television. Legendary Indian batsman Sachin Tendulkar was engaged in a furious battle with mighty Australians, magnificent tons from the master paved the way for men in blues to clinch the Coca-Cola Cup.

Each swing from the willow of the Little Master was a hammer that sculpted the world's greatest chase master. Virat himself stated - "Sachin was not a cricketer, he was an emotion. His tons against Australia changed my perspective on the game". His father, on seeing his passion towards the game took him to a cricket academy coached by Rajkumar Sharma.

#2 Rising through the ashes

Kohli led team India wins 2008 U19 World cup

Virat, the child, was practising with the senior batch and his technique improved over the years. Just like the other dream runs, this one had the end too. The transformation of Virat, the kid with precision to Virat, the aggressor came in 2006.

Kohli was playing a four-day long Ranji match for his home state Delhi when the sad demise of his father took place. Prem Nath Kohli was facing some stress issues, due to a business imbalance which led to cardiac arrest, the cause of his death.

An 18-year-old whose father died in his arms a few hours ago came to bat, to save the match for his team. A team-mate of Kohli described how Virat called his coach and cried not because his father passed away, but because he was given out due to an umpire misjudgement.