Former Indian Test opener Aakash Chopra said Virat Kohli has taught everyone how to live up to the lofty expectations throughout his career. Kohli has delivered in crunch matches for India and has played a key role in the team’s success in the last 15 years.
Chopra noted that Kohli has carried a huge burden on his shoulders for a long time and has delivered time and again for the country. Kohli has amassed 29000 International runs across all three formats and he is regarded as one of the best batters in the modern era.
“Just because I carried it well does not mean that it was not heavy. Who gives this life lesson? I am going to go with Virat Kohli here. The talk is about expectations and pressure. The talk is about your own standards. Virat Kohli wears it so well that you don’t realize it. The special thing about him is that there is no change in his playing style. He has mastered this art,” Chopra said on his YouTube Channel.
Chopra said Kohli is cut from a different cloth and his attitude doesn’t change irrespective of the pressure.
“Some people are slightly cut above the rest. No matter how much pressure you put on them, their response, behaviour, body language, and persona do not change. You don’t even realize that he has been carrying a very heavy burden on his shoulders for many years,” he added.
On the other hand, the renowned commentator said prodigy batter Vaibhav Sooryavanshi and former Indian opener Virender Sehwag have given the life lesson of not following the norm.
“Do not follow the norm. Vaibhav Sooryavanshi and Virender Sehwag have given us that lesson. The way Virender Sehwag was playing Test cricket 20 years ago, everyone said that it was wrong. He said he would do it and do it very well. He said he would change the way Test cricket is played. It will be remembered that he was a trend-setter,” the former India opener said.
“Vaibhav Sooryavanshi is doing the same thing now. He has seen his seniors playing differently, but he decided he won’t do like that, and will only hit sixes. What Viru did in the early 2000s, he is doing the same thing in 2026. So you can carve your own niche,” he added.
Sooryavanshi top-scored with 776 runs in 16 matches of IPL 2026.
