Virat Kohli Rejects Workload Management: ‘You’ll Never Reach Your Full Potential’

Virat Kohli (Image credit: RCB) BENGALURU: In 23 Tests and 41 innings between November 2019 and March 2023, Virat Kohli endured an uncharacteristic century drought in the five-day format. It was also the phase during which he stepped down from the Indian Test captaincy as one of the leanest stretches of his career unfolded.Reflecting on that difficult period, Kohli said the two men who stood by him firmly were India’s then head coach Rahul Dravid and batting coach Vikram Rathour. Speaking at the RCB Innovation Lab India Sports Summit at the Center of Excellence here on Monday, Kohli spoke about how the duo helped him rediscover both his form and his joy in batting.“Whenever I see them or meet them, I always thank them from the bottom of my heart because they really looked after me in a way that made me feel like I want to play for them. I want to perform, grind it out and do the hard work for them. They made me realize what I’ve been doing so far,” he said.“There’s a very fine line between caution and uncertainty. You always feel like you’re never good enough. And that’s the impostor syndrome. You have to keep up with your own standards. They understood that. Rahul Bhai obviously did it better than a lot of people in Test cricket at the highest level. And Vikram Rathour understood that, what they could get away with for so many years. They really took care of me mentally, put me in a space where I could enjoy cricket again,” he explained. Kohli.“DON’T TRUST WORKLOAD MANAGEMENT”Kohli, who talked about how leadership comes naturally to him, also outlined why he doesn’t believe in the concept of workload management that is central to multi-format players.“I don’t believe in managing the workload when you’re at your peak and your careers are growing. You have to understand your maximum limit first. And from there you understand the balance between how much you can do or when you have to cut back. But you can’t start driving at the start of your career, otherwise you’ll never reach your full potential. That’s the way I operate,” explains Kohli exclusively for ODIs, which currentlyKohli, a veteran of 123 Test matches, made an interesting observation about people relating the drive to the money that T20 cricket offers.Asked what keeps him going, he said: “It’s the drive. A lot of people associate drive with money these days. Yes, it’s a big factor because if a format that gives you the hype and the recognition, the glory of scoring 40-50 off 20 balls and the kind of money that people can make in the IPL these days, he can do it and you don’t know what’s very comfortable for you? pressure for too long, I can just go there and smash the ball,”For longevity, according to Kohli, his mantra is: “..Or you can say, I want to play for 15-20 years. I want to get recognition and respect from the cricketing world, my own heroes and I want to live up to that opportunity. That’s a very different zone. You have to be very driven to say, I’m committing very, very hard, but I’ll be 0-15, but I’ll be 1 for it.”