Deccan Chronicle

I am in happiest phase of life: Virat

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Mumbai, May 19: In a declaratio­n that is not commensura­te with his current form, Virat Kohli says he is “actually” going through the “happiest phase” of his life, when he is not receptive to either success or failure.He is “not finding any selfworth or value” in what he is doing on the field now, a far cry from the man known for his intensity and passion, things that made him a cricket icon, besides his incredible range of shots with the bat in his pomp.

Kohli has not scored a hundred in competitiv­e cricket for nearly three years and current edition of IPL happens to be his worst.

“I’m actually in the happiest phase of my life. I am not finding any self-worth or value in what I do on the field. I’m way past that phase. This is a phase of evolution for me,” Kohli told Star Sports.

The former India skipper, who also gave up captaincy at Royal Challenger­s Bangalore last year, is enduring his worst run with the bat, leaving his millions of fans concerned.

He has had a disappoint­ing IPL-15 so far with the bat having managed only one half-century in 13 matches for RCB. Kohli has bagged three golden ducks already this season and has managed just 200 runs at an average and strike rate that fail to define a player of his calibre.

At the same time though, the 33-year-old refuses to believe that the drive is not there.

“... Not to say that I don’t have the same drive, my drive will never die down. The day my drive goes away, I’ll not be playing this game.

“But to understand that some things are not controllab­le, the only controllab­le you have are things that you can work towards, which is working hard on the field and in life as well and from that point of view, I feel that I am in the most balanced space that I have ever been and I am happy with who I am and how I am leading my life,” Kohli said.

For Kohli, on-field success or failure is increasing­ly becoming irrelevant.

“I am not finding any source of encouragem­ent or disappoint­ment by what happens on the field. So, this has not been about myself, this is about the fact that I have not contribute­d to my team’s cause as much as I would have wanted to or I pride myself to, and that is something that always disappoint­s me, not what I do as an individual,” he said.

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Virat Kohli

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