Former India cricket captain Virat Kohli recently shared his thoughts on pressure in sports. He said that tennis players deal with intense pressure almost every week, which is similar to what Indian cricketers experience during big matches like World Cup knockouts or games against Pakistan.
Virat Kohli Compares Tennis Pressure to India-Pakistan World Cup Matches
Kohli, who has now retired from T20 Internationals and Test cricket, made this comparison after watching a match at Wimbledon on Monday with his wife, actor Anushka Sharma. He spoke about it while chatting with tennis great Vijay Amritraj during the day’s events.
“I think the experience (in pressure situations) can be similar. But the intimidation factor and the pressure that would replicate for us in a World Cup game, a World Cup match between India and Pakistan or a semifinal or a final of the World Cup, your legs are shivering because of sheer pressure,” Kohli said during the interview telecast on ‘Star Sports’.”But these players might be facing that from the quarterfinal onwards to the final, which I think is a lot of pressure to handle. I have a lot of respect for tennis players for playing with that composure and maintaining that level of fitness and mental toughness,” added the superstar.
One of the all-time greats in cricket, Virat Kohli recently retired from the red-ball format. He finished his Test career with 9,230 runs in 123 matches, including 30 centuries. Kohli said that cricketers face their own challenges on the field because the game is constantly changing.
“Different sports have different challenges. In cricket, one of the challenges is that you have to wait for a long period, you warm-up in the morning and then you come back and wait in the dressing room, as you don’t know when you are going to bat,” he said.
“Sitting there, reading the game, the situation changes so drastically. Here (in tennis) probably you have set conditions, you know what you are walking into,” he added.
“In Cricket, One Mistake and You’re Done,” Says Kohli
Virat Kohli also believes that cricket gives players fewer chances to make a comeback in a match compared to tennis.
“One more challenge regarding my skills in cricket — batting — is that you have got only one chance. You don’t have much chance to make a comeback, you make one mistake and you clap for the rest of the day.”
“But these guys might be down two sets and a break, but still can come back and win,” he said.
The 36-year-old said that playing on Wimbledon’s Centre Court can feel more intimidating than being in a cricket stadium, mainly because the crowd is so close to the players.
“There are such amazing stadiums to play cricket in the world, and there is a lot of pressure because there are so many people in the stadium. But I would say it was not as intimidating as the Centre Court because of the distance the people are sitting from you,” he explained.
“When we are batting on the pitch, the fans are too far away, so you can get lost in your own space. You don’t hear the comments, you don’t hear the cheers and boos…,” he said.
“But yeah, if I was there, and the crowd was so close to me then that could have been intimidating for me,” he added.
Virat Kohli said he hopes Serbian tennis legend Novak Djokovic wins this year’s Wimbledon and secures a record 25th Grand Slam title.
“I have been in touch with Novak (Djokovic) for a while now. We have exchanged a few messages and he has been gracious and kind to stay in touch.” Virat Kohli also said his dream final would be between Djokovic and Spanish star Carlos Alcaraz, the two-time defending champion here.
“I want Carlos (Alcaraz) and Novak in the final and probably Novak win the title because that would be tremendous for him at this stage of his career, and the whole conversation of being the greatest of all time, maximum number of Grand Slams and he deserves it,” he signed off.
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