“I Didn’t Get Selected” Virat Kohli Reveals About the Unfair Use of Power

Indian cricket team captain Virat Kohli is arguably one of the best batsmen to embrace the game of cricket in the modern era. He has achieved unprecedented success over the years and has many records under his name.?

However, the journey of becoming a captain of the Indian cricket team was never easy for Virat Kohli. He had his fair share of struggles and ups and downs to be at the place he is today. Recently, in an engaging conversation with India’s football skipper Sunil Chhetri, Kohli revealed about the time he was rejected from the junior team as his father refused to pay the bribe.?

Talking about his early playing days, Kohli admitted that the things were not very fair in his home state Delhi when it came to the game of cricket. Reminiscing about his selection in the junior team, Kohli said that he didn’t get selected just because his honest father refused to use unfair means. He further added that he felt very bad at that time and cried a lot.?

Kohli told Chhetri, “In my home state (Delhi)… sometimes things happen that are not fair… On one occasion, a certain someone did not play by the rules when it came to selection criteria. He told my father while I had the merit, a little extra (bribe) was needed to confirm my selection.”

Virat added, “My father – an honest middle-class man who had worked hard all his life to become a successful lawyer – did not even understand what that ‘little extra’ meant. My father simply said, ‘If you want to select Virat, then let it be purely on merit. I will give you nothing extra’. I didn’t get selected. Cried a lot. I was broken,”

That incident taught me a lot: Virat Kohli

Indian skipper admitted that the particular incident had a great impact on him. It taught him to be extraordinary in order to achieve something in his life. Explaining the role of his father, Kohli said that his father showed him the right path through his honest way of living life.?

Kohli revealed, “That incident taught me a lot. I realized that this world runs like this. If you want to progress, do something that no one else is doing. If I had to become successful, I needed to be extraordinary. And I had to achieve this purely through my own effort and hard work. My father showed me the right way, through his actions and not merely words. Those little things had a great impact on me.”

Since then Virat Kohli has achieved a lot in his career. He is listed as the number 1 ODI batsman in ICC’s ODI batsman list. Also, he is regarded as one of the most successful captains for the Indian cricket team.?