Virat Kohli credits Dravid, Rathour for helping him through tough post-captaincy phase

Virat Kohli has credited former India head coach Rahul Dravid and batting coach Vikram Rathour for helping him rediscover the joy of playing cricket after stepping down as India captain, saying the duo "genuinely took care" of him mentally during a demanding phase of his career.

Reflecting on the period after his Test captaincy tenure ended in 2022, Kohli said the support he received from Dravid and Rathour left a lasting impact. Kohli endured a rare lean stretch in Test cricket between 2020 and 2022, going three calendar years without a century in the format.

While he did not quite return to the staggering heights of his 2016-19 peak after giving up captaincy, there was a visible upturn in 2023 as he scored two Test hundreds at an average of 54.73 before going on to have a record-breaking ODI World Cup campaign later that year.

"I've said this many times about Rahul bhai and Vikram Rathore. I had a great phase in Test cricket, and whenever I meet them, I thank them from the bottom of my heart because they took care of me in a way that made me feel like I wanted to play for them," Kohli said at the RCB Innovation Lab Indian Sports Summit in Bengaluru on Tuesday.

"I wanted to perform, grind it out, and do the hard work because they were so caring and nurturing. They reminded me of everything I had done so far – something you never really sit down and think about as a player."

He added that Dravid's own experiences at the highest level helped him understand the insecurities that even senior cricketers continue to battle. "As players, you're always walking a very thin line between being cautious and being insecure. You constantly feel like you're never good enough – that imposter syndrome is always there," Kohli said.

"Even today, when I go into the nets, I still think: these youngsters are watching. If I have a bad session, they'll probably wonder, 'Is this the guy who's been playing for 20 years?' That thought is always there.

"Rahul bhai understood that because he had experienced it himself at the highest level. Vikram had been around for years too. They understood what I was feeling and genuinely took care of me mentally. That put me in a space where I could enjoy my cricket again."

Kohli revealed that it was only after leaving captaincy that he began opening up more about what he had gone through mentally while leading the side for nearly a decade across formats. "The reason you're given a leadership role is because people believe you can take on more and still manage it. In many ways, leadership is more about management than even coaching," he said.

According to Kohli, captaincy often required him to suppress his own emotions in order to focus entirely on the team. "To do that, you constantly have to be in a space where you're not focused on yourself. You don't even think about whether someone is going to ask you, 'Are you okay?' That thought doesn't even cross your mind."

The former India captain admitted that only towards the end of his leadership stint did he realise how emotionally draining the role had become. "I did look back and realise that no one had really asked me that question for almost nine years – 'How are you doing?'"

Kohli, however, stressed that he never viewed it as a complaint and said he would approach leadership the same way again if given the choice. "When I was in the thick of things, I never really felt like I needed someone to ask me how I was doing. I was okay managing everything. And honestly, I'd do it the same way all over again," he said.

Kohli also spoke about workload management, saying he believes players should first discover the limits of their endurance before thinking about slowing down. "I don't really believe in managing workload when you're still in the thick of your journey and trying to grow. First, you have to understand your maximum limit. Only then do you understand balance – how much you can truly take before you begin to taper it down. But if you start managing too early, you may never reach your full potential."