“Initially when Virat Kohli became captain, he used to get very angry” - Childhood coach Rajkumar Sharma

Virat Kohli’s childhood coach Rajkumar Sharma has revealed that the star batter used to get extremely angry during his initial days as skipper and reacted a lot. Sharma recalled having conversations with him and explaining to the former Indian captain that he cannot expect the same level of excellence from every member of the team.

The 33-year-old was sacked as ODI captain ahead of the tour of South Africa. While Rohit Sharma was named the new one-day skipper, KL Rahul was picked as leader for the South Africa ODIs after the former was declared unfit.

At a press conference ahead of the ODI series, Rahul hailed Kohli’s amazing ability to get the best out of everybody and make them believe that they can do special things.

Reacting to Rahul’s praise of the former captain, Sharma said on the Khelneeti podcast that Kohli had to rein in his anger to transform himself into an inspirational leader. He revealed:

“Initially when Virat Kohli became captain, he used to get very angry. If someone dropped a catch, he used to react. I explained to him that not everyone is exceptionally talented like him. Nobody wants to drop catches or play poorly on a cricket ground. You have to get the best out of them and not expect others to do what he can do. He accepted it and mellowed down. He started encouraging the players and has had a major role to play in building this team.”

Kohli stepped down as Test captain a day after India’s loss in Cape Town, which means that now is not leader in any of the three formats.

“Kohli has no ego” - Rajkumar Sharma

While critics feel it will be a challenge for Rahul to captain Kohli having played under him for so long, the latter’s childhood coach sees no such issues.

The 56-year-old asserted:

“Kohli has no ego. If he had, he wouldn’t have left the captaincy. He has supported and backed both Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul. In fact, many times he dropped seniors to accommodate Rohit because he rated the batter highly. Rohit has gone on to prove himself as a world-class batter. He has had good things to say about KL as well.”

Sharma added that Rahul can definitely bank on Kohli for support and suggestions. He concluded his observations by saying:

“Kohli himself would want to contribute. I don’t think there will be any kind of pressure on Rahul. He (Kohli) is ready to play under another captain. In the past, Tendulkar, Dravid and Dhoni have also done it. KL will get support from Kohli, just like the latter received from Dhoni.”

The first two ODIs of the India-South Africa series will be played in Paarl on Wednesday and Friday (January 21). The series will conclude with the third one-dayer in Cape Town on Sunday, January 23.