My career highlight is obviously winning the World Cup in 2011 – Virat Kohli on one of the best moments in his career

Donning one’s country’s threads is always one of the proudest moments of a cricketer’s life and Virat Kohli is no exception to this. However, wearing the India colours and featuring in a World Cup, well, that precedes everything else, except for emerging as champions from the tournament. 

Kohli will be a part of the Indian cricket team for the upcoming 2023 World Cup that will mark his fourth WC appearance in the 50-over format. He was a proud part of the 2011 World Cup squad and played a very crucial role in the grand final against Sri Lanka, steadying the Indian ship in the face of a rearing Lankan attack, spearheaded by Lasith Malinga.

As Kohli gears up for the upcoming quadrennial extravaganza, in a promotional event at Bengaluru, he opened up on how he still cherishes playing under the pump. He mentioned how the pressure brings out the very best in him and his innings over the past decade is a blazing testimony to how he thrives in tough situations.

Kohli said, “My career highlight is obviously winning the World Cup in 2011. I was 23 at the time, and I probably didn’t understand the magnitude of it. But now at 34, and has played many World Cups, which we haven’t been able to win, So, I understand the emotions of all the senior players (in 2011). All the more for Sachin Tendulkar, as it was his last World Cup. He had already played many World Cups by then and to win it in Mumbai, his hometown, was very special for him. I mean, it was stuff from dreams.”

Talking about the 2011 World Cup and the special partnership that he knitted alongside Gautam Gambhir, Kohli said, “I remember the amount of pressure there was on all the players when we were travelling. Thankfully, there was no social media back then. It would have been a nightmare, honestly. But through the airports, it was always just one thing -- we need to win the cup. The senior players were always under the pump and had to handle all that pressure. It was just brilliant. And that night (after the WC win) in itself was something magical.”