Victory laps at the Wankhede Stadium aren’t new for Virat Kohli. Thirteen summers ago, as a young 22-year-old, he carried Sachin Tendulkar on his shoulders to celebrate India’s historic ODI World Cup win.
But when he returned to the iconic venue on Thursday evening - this time as a seasoned, just-retired T20I cricketer - Kohli could not control his emotions as he addressed the crowd to celebrate India’s T20 World Cup victory.
“When we won the World Cup back in 2011, I could not connect with the emotions of the senior players at that point of time. I could not understand why they were crying.
“For me, it felt like, ‘yeah, we have won the World Cup and that was a fact’. I was 22, but now, it’s a different feeling,” Kohli said as a packed stadium chanted his name.
Having captained India for long, Kohli, by his own admission, now understands what it feels to clinch an world title - battling odds, overcoming disappointments.
“Now being at this position, (I understand what it means). Not just me, Rohit has played for so long, and we both have been trying hard for this for so long.
“When I was the captain, he was a senior player; now he is the captain, I am a senior player, and our only aim was to win India a World Cup,” Kohli said.
Overcoming a rather disappointing campaign in the just-concluded T20 event, Kohli’s gritty innings in the final paved the way for India. And, as India pulled off a win from the jaws of defeat, it was an emotional moment for both Rohit and Kohli.
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Having played together for 15 years, this was the first time Kohli saw Rohit so emotional on the field. “When I was walking up the steps, we both were crying.
“For me, that’s a very special memory from that day,” Kohli said, reflecting on the state of mind after the big game. “The only goal is Indian cricket and the Indian flag. That’s what we take pride in,” he added.
As he walked down the memory lane, the cricket-crazy fans of Mumbai gave him a standing ovation and Kohli, too, hailed Wankhede Stadium as a ‘special one’.
“No better to come back (and celebrate) than Wankhede. The last time we were here, it was a special feeling and it is a very special stadium and I absolutely love playing here and love the crowd as well,” he signed off.
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