India’s batter Ajinkya Rahane has dismissed the notion that veteran batter Virat Kohli is arrogant. Rahane revealed that Kohli likes to get into his zone before a match and doesn’t involve himself in chatter with teammates.

Kohli is known for his spot-on preparations, which have helped him savour success at the top level. The talisman has performed consistently for India across all formats and took India’s Test team to new heights under his captaincy.

Rahane said on Cricbuzz, “Outside people think Virat is arrogant generally but he is not. Now he gets into the zone where I’ve seen him two days before the game, he’ll hardly talk with people, even with teammates. That’s what actually gets him into the zone. He always wears his AirPods to try and listen to what he wants to. But he likes to get in the zone.”

Rahane praised Kohli for his work ethic and said one would always find Kohli working hard on his fitness in the gym. The Mumbai batter revealed that it took a little bit of time for everyone to get used to Kohli’s nature.

“He (Kohli) is in the gym each end every time. We all know that but to understand him, initially it took all the players a little bit of time as to why he is doing that. But then I got to know that he’s actually getting into the zone while not talking to the players or anyone. 3. He actually likes to do that. His attitude and work ethic are amazing. And every time you see him, you see something different. He always wants to change and improve to contribute to the team,” said Rahane (via the aforementioned source).

Kohli is currently playing in the ODI series against New Zealand.