Cricket Interviews: What Rohit Sharma Said to Virat Kohli After His 71st Century Following 1020 Days?

It was a moment of pure relief and joy, not just for Kohli but for millions of fans who had been waiting to see their favourite star back among the runs. The atmosphere was electric as the crowd celebrated every shot. After the match, the two pillars of Indian cricket, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, shared an interview reflecting on the special occasion.

How Virat Kohli Expressed His Emotions After Scoring a Century Following 1020 Days?

After being the star of the night with his long-awaited century, Virat Kohli opened up about the emotional and personal journey that led to his remarkable innings. His unbeaten 122 from 61 balls against Afghanistan not only ended a drought of 1020 days without a hundred but also became his first T20 international century. For Kohli, this milestone was more than just a statistical achievement, it was the story of rediscovering himself as a player and a person. Kohli began by expressing gratitude for the way the day turned out.

He admitted that his time away from the game was a period of deep reflection. It gave him the chance to observe himself closely, understand what was going wrong, and most importantly, change his perspective. He revealed that during this tough phase, his wife Anushka Sharma stood by him through thick and thin. According to Kohli, she saw the rawest side of him during these months of struggle and constantly helped him keep things in perspective. He credited her for giving him the right guidance and vision that allowed him to return to cricket as a more relaxed individual. He said:

Firstly I am grateful for how the day went today. Time away from the game gave me a good chance to sit back and observe a lot of things about me. I mentioned one special person – Anushka – who stood by me through these tough times and I mentioned her as she has seen the absolute raw side of me throughout all these months. She was the one putting things in perspective for me, kept giving me the right kind of guidance, right kind of vision moving forward and I came back into the system a very relaxed person. I wasn’t desperate to prove anything to anyone – in a very real sense, not in a way that ‘I’ve done everything’ – it’s just about enjoying the game, understanding what God has blessed you with already and then just being humble and going out there and doing the grind all over again.

The former Indian captain pointed out that he was no longer desperate to prove anything to anyone. Instead, he came back with a mindset of enjoying the game and being humble about the opportunities that life and cricket had given him. For Kohli, this innings was not about silencing critics but about embracing the joy of batting again. He admitted that the knock felt like he was batting out of his skin and even surprised himself with the ease and fluency he showed.

Reflecting on the long gap between hundreds, Kohli said what hurt him most was that even his consistent 50s and 60s were being seen as failures. This judgment, he admitted, was shocking because he felt he was batting well and contributing, but the absence of big scores made people forget the value of those innings. Still, he accepted that this is the reality of being in the spotlight and that such scrutiny comes with the territory of being a top international cricketer. Kohli also spoke about how he tried to find solutions during his lean patch. He added:

Today I think was just a build up of the last few games – I actually batted out of my skin to be honest, I surprised myself. [Long gap between hundreds?] What actually surprised me was my 60s became failures, which was very shocking for me. I was batting pretty well and contributing, but it didn’t seem to be good enough. But as I said, God has blessed me with a lot of good times in the past, and that’s why I’m in this position where these things can be spoken about. I have absolute no shame in admitting that God is blessing us all with everything in our destiny, we just have to work hard. So I went back to the drawing board, came back fresh, came back excited. The team management have also had great communication with me through these times, they’ve kept my perspective right. When I came back there was not much information coming my way, they just said “you bat and enjoy yourself”.

He went back to watching videos of himself during his best years and realized that his technique and initial movements were the same. The problem was not in his batting skills but in his mindset. He could not explain it to anyone, but deep inside, he knew he had to realign his thoughts and get back to enjoying the game rather than trying to force results. The 33-year-old credited the Indian team management for handling him with patience during this period. They did not overload him with advice or criticism but simply encouraged him to enjoy batting again.

Kohli emphasized that every individual knows their own journey better than anyone else. While people will always have opinions and suggestions, no one can truly feel the emotions a player goes through. He said the past few months were difficult but also very special because they taught him important life lessons. He concluded with:

So it was just a matter of getting back into the space of enjoyment. [opinion on Asia Cup?] have had many suggestions, lot of advice has come my way. People were telling me I was doing this wrong, that wrong, I picked out all the videos from the best times I had. It was the same initial movement, same approach towards the ball and it was just what was going on inside my head I wasn’t able to explain it to anyone. At the end of the day you know as an individual where you stand, and what you have to do for your journey, and people will have their opinions. But they cannot feel what you’re feeling. I have felt these last few months in a very different way, which is a very special time in my life. I’m very grateful for that time, my perspective had to change for me to move forward in cricket.

This century against Afghanistan, therefore, was more than just a return to form. It was a statement that patience, faith, and the right perspective can help overcome the toughest of challenges. Kohli’s words after the match showed that his hunger for runs remains intact, but now with a calmer and wiser outlook.

How Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli Acknowledged the Knock

With the match over, the focus quickly shifted to Virat Kohli, who finally ended his long wait for a century. On September 8, 2022, during India’s Asia Cup clash against Afghanistan in Dubai, Kohli smashed his maiden T20I hundred and his 71st international century, ending a drought of 1020 days. For a batter who had been under immense scrutiny for loss of form, it was a night of relief, joy, and rediscovery.

Kohli later revealed that he had been “desperate to do something that wasn’t in my game” before his six-week break. For the first time in 13-14 years, he had put the bat away and completely switched off from cricket. That break, he admitted, gave him much-needed clarity. He credited Rohit Sharma and coach Rahul Dravid for giving him the freedom and space to focus on his natural game, rather than getting carried away by external expectations.

In a post-match chat with Rohit, Kohli spoke about returning to his template, playing proper cricketing shots, finding gaps, and relying on boundaries rather than forcing six-hitting. He admitted that before the break he was too concerned about strike rates and power-hitting, which was never his main strength. The Asia Cup became a turning point where he decided to trust his natural game again. Kohli said:

Personally, since I’ve come back from a break where I didn’t touch the bat for the longest time in the 13-14 years I’ve played, a lot of things were put into perspective. I got a lot of clarity from you guys [pointing to Rohit] and the team management, to just allow me to bat. That was very important. The space I got made me feel very relaxed. When I returned, I was excited to see how I could contribute to the team. Playing this way was important for me because the World Cup is big and if I play well, I can contribute big for the team.

The Afghanistan innings was a perfect example of this shift. Kohli, opening the batting, reached 59 off 40 balls by the 15th over. In the last five overs, he accelerated dramatically, adding 63 runs off just 21 balls to finish unbeaten on 122 off 61 deliveries. He reached his century with a pull shot on 94, showing no nerves despite the long wait for a milestone. His ability to pace the innings without forcing big hits stood out, something Rohit praised. Rohit said:

Obviously in T20 cricket we talk about big hitting and all of that. But that [century] was the perfect example of how to craft an innings without focusing so much on the big hitting. That was wonderful to see. I know it personally because I’ve seen you bat long enough.

The tournament numbers backed Kohli’s resurgence. He ended the Asia Cup as the leading run-scorer with 276 runs in five innings at a strike rate of 147.59. Beyond the numbers, what stood out was Kohli’s willingness to adapt. He stepped out to spinners far more frequently than before, once every 4.9 balls at the Asia Cup compared to once every 7.9 balls earlier. He even brought out shots rarely seen from him, like the conventional sweep, one of which he used against Mujeeb Ur Rahman. Virat concluded with:

We can play in many ways, but my role is to play as per the situation and if it demands I have to take the scoring rate higher, I should be able to do it. My aim was if I can be in this zone, I can be relaxed because I know if I’m set for 10-15 balls, I can accelerate. I’m very happy that especially from the team’s point of view, I’m back to being in my template I’ve played for a while, which I was going away from because I was desperate to do something that wasn’t my game.

For Kohli, the key was mental space. He stressed that enjoying batting and playing as per the situation was more important than chasing a high strike rate. Once he got set for 10-15 balls, he trusted his ability to accelerate, something he demonstrated against Afghanistan. Rohit, who conducted the interview, hailed Kohli’s knock as a lesson in pacing an innings in T20 cricket, noting that it wasn’t all about brute power but about timing and constructing an innings.