I want to be a monk in a civil world: Virat Kohli

Mumbai: India Test skipper Virat Kohli – who became the highest run-getter in an IPL season – wants to evolve as a person, focussing on Test cricket. The cricketer, who has been on a T20 high, believes consistency in Tests will make him a complete cricketer.

“I have spoken to many people around the world and Test cricket is very dear to them. When you perform in Test matches it gives you immense job satisfaction. I know T20 cricket is exciting, ODI too, World Cups are exciting, they make memories. But job satisfaction over a period of 15-20 years playing cricket, to actually sit down and tell yourself that yes, I have done something in my career is being consistent in Test cricket,” said Kohli in an interview with India Today.

The 27-year-old, who hit three centuries in the ongoing IPL, also asserted that his aim in life is to grow as a person and not depend on happiness.

“There comes a time in life when you have to understand that you have a professional career but other aspects in life are as important. The professional career is going to end at some stage. Sometimes, we make the mistake of not evolving as people while being part of a professional career and later on it strikes you so hard that you don’t know how to lead your life or how to actually lead your children in the right way. My biggest aim is life is if I can be attached and yet be detached with everything that I do, probably be a monk living in a civil world,” he added.

Kohli has been on a rampage since India went to Australia for the T20 series. He carried his form into the Asia Cup and then, ICC World Twenty20 but India crashed out in the semi-final.

“World T20 exit was hard to digest. It was painful. I was really motivated to take the team all the way. We all were very pumped up. You saw the game against Bangladesh as well. In those crunch situations a youngster like Hardik, Jasprit doing so well as a youngster, the whole team was feeling inspired. It’s very hard to create that kind of momentum in a big tournament, specially a tournament like World Cup,” added Kohli, who bowled the last over against West Indies in the semi-final.

Talking about AB de Villiers, with whom he is stitching remarkable partnerships for Royal Challengers Bangalore, he said: “I have actually been very fortunate to get to understand him as a person more in the past couple of years. We have always been close but we haven’t spoken about the game as much as we have in the past couple of years,” he said.