Virat Kohli birthday: 5 life lessons we can learn from the Indian skipper

#1 Be true to who you are

Virat Kohli: Pretension is a poor joke that you play on yourself. Snap out of it. Recognise your strengths, work on your weaknesses. Real achievement is liking what you see in the mirror every morning.

When Kohli took over as the leader of the Indian Cricket Team after MS Dhoni stepped down from the position, he was under unreal amounts of pressure. He had to fill the shoes of arguably the best captain in Indian history and do so without changing the functioning dynamics of the team.

However, Kohli never tried to fit into Dhoni's shoes. Instead, he brought his own footwear to the table.

Dhoni was a calm, composed and collected captain who believed in keeping a poker face on the field. Kohli, on the other hand, is an individual who likes to express himself during a game. When Kohli was announced as the Indian skipper in 2015, he never tried to change his attitude to become more like Dhoni. That is what made his captaincy click with the team seamlessly.

Not to forget, he developed a terrific working relationship with Dhoni after taking over from him. A relationship, which empowers India to win difficult matches in tough conditions due to its amalgam of experience with enthusiasm.