Is Virat Kohli Arrogant? Ajinkya Rahane gives big statement about India's great

Virat Kohli clinched the Player of the Match award in the first ODI against New Zealand.

Former Indian Test captain Ajinkya Rahane has spoken about Virat Kohli‘s personality, and his statement is now going viral on social media. When Kohli was the test captain of India, Rahane was his deputy. Both of them played a lot of cricket with each other.

While Kohli announced his retirement from test cricket last year, Rahane is yet to pull the curtains down on his international career. However, he has been out of the Test team for the past few years.

Kohli recently bagged the limelight with his performance in the first ODI between India and New Zealand. Smacking 93 runs in the clash, he played a crucial role in driving the team to victory in the mammoth 301-run chase.

Becoming the third batter to cross 28,000 runs in international cricket in the encounter, he joined the likes of batting legend Sachin Tendulkar and Kumar Sangakkara. He was adjudged Player of the Match.

The remarkable thing is that Kohli has been in superb form in ODIs recently, which is the only format in which he is currently active.

In the previous ODI series against South Africa last month, he hammered two centuries and one fifty across three matches to win the Player of the Series award. He followed it up with another half-century in the first ODI against New Zealand.

People outside think Virat is arrogant, but he is… Ajinkya Rahane

During a chat with Cricbuzz, Rahane lauded Kohli’s attitude and passion for cricket. He also reckoned that Kohli is not arrogant, but it’s his way of preparing for a match.

“However much we talk about Virat is never enough. But I have seen him very closely, how he goes about his batting. We talk about his passion and his intent each and every time. But I feel what stands out is his attitude – the attitude of learning, the attitude of never giving up. People outside think Virat is arrogant, but he is not. He gets into the zone,” he said.

Rahane also noted that the veteran Indian batter does not speak with his teammates a few days ahead of the matches. As a result, many players were confused, but they eventually understood that it is Kohli’s way of getting into the zone for matches.

“I saw him two days before the game. He’ll hardly talk to people, even to his teammates. That’s what actually gets him into the zone. He’ll always wear his AirPods or try and listen to whatever he wants to and what he likes to get into the zone,” said Rahane.

“Initially, it took all the players a little bit of time – why is he doing that? But then I got to know that he’s actually getting into the zone by not talking to the players or anyone,” he concluded.

Meanwhile, Kohli is gearing up for the second ODI against New Zealand, scheduled to take place on January 14 at Niranjan Shah Stadium in Rajkot. India lead the three-match series 1-0 after winning the first clash by four wickets. They will aim for a series victory in the next game, where Kohli will be in focus once again.

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