• Source:JND
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Virat Kohli has established himself as a modern-day great and has been India's most successful and consistent batter over the past few years.

However, things were not easy for Virat during his early days at the big stage as he dealt with a lack of self-confidence in his batting ability. The star batter, who led India to an Under-19 World Cup title win, revealed how ‘determination’ and the backing of then-skipper MS Dhoni and coach Gary Kirsten helped him find his break into the senior team.

He then stated that it was the influence of Dhoni and Kirsten, who backed him to take over the No.3 spot in the batting order, that helped him emerge as the next big thing in Indian cricket.

"I was very realistic about my abilities. Because I had seen a lot of other people play. And I did not feel like my game was anywhere close to theirs. The only thing that I had was determination. And if I wanted to make my team win, I was willing to do anything," Kohli stated during the RCB Bold Diaries’ podcast

"That was the very reason I got chances to play for India initially. And Gary (Kirsten) and MS (Dhoni) made it very clear to me that we are backing you to play at number three."

Kohli said the two encouraged him to play his natural game, knowing that he would always be a fighter on the field.

"This is what you can do for the team. What you represent on the field, your energy, and your engagement are of the biggest value to us. We want you to play that way.

"So, I was never looked at as this outright match winner who can change the game from anywhere. But I had this thing, I'm going to stay in the fight. I'm not going to give up. And that is what they backed."

Kohli feels nervous energy is crucial to success in cricket, and no matter how many runs one scores, it is something that keeps a player in competitive mode.

"What happens when you're young is you feel like, 'if I have scored X amount of runs by the time I'm this age or whatever', things will ease out. It never happens like that.

"And that is the marker. When you stop feeling that nervousness or that anticipation of how things are going to unfold is when people say that you're done," he said.

"So that never goes away from you because that very energy is what keeps you engaged to do what you need to do in that moment, in that present moment."