Virat Kohli acknowledged that he was haunted by the horrors of that tour until he scored a stunning 149 in Edgbaston, England, in the 2018 series opener.
Virat Kohli was constantly reminded of the 2014 England tour, despite the milestones he reached and the records he broke.
He had scored 134 runs in 10 innings. With the highest score being 39 and five single-digit scores, making it his only blip in his career.
The legendary Indian batsman later admitted that he was haunted. By the horrors of that tour until he buried them with a stunning 149 in the 2018 series opener in Edgbaston.
Kohli talked about the Edgbaston crowd welcoming him on the RCB Podcast Season 2. Which brought back memories of the 2014 tour.
Because all I could think about were the flashes of 2014, my heart was racing. As soon as I entered the field, the approximately 35,000 people who were present began to boo me. My heart rate accelerated.
They have this amazing capacity to create an atmosphere. In which you feel as though I have no chance here,” Kohli recalled.
The great England player James Anderson was the main wrecker of Kohli’s 2014 campaign. He called him out four times and made the world aware of the former India captain’s weaknesses in the format.
However, when Kohli arrived in England four years after that tour, he was a different batter. In addition, he achieved his first century in England after surviving the fast bowler’s initial scare with a little luck.
Kohli never looked back after scoring an impressive 149 runs in the 2018 tour. Scoring two tons and three fifties in 593 innings.
“I remember James Anderson being the player who was running with the ball. I was like, what are the chances that I will get the first ball from him again after four years?
He bowled it at the fourth stump and I left that ball,” and that was all I could think of. After that first ball, I calmed down, and I was dropped at 22.
In that innings, I could have been out on 22, but I got 149 and didn’t look back. That’s when you realize that you can’t just sit there and complain about things that didn’t go as planned.
There were numerous positive outcomes. My shoulder was relieved of so much waiting,” he stated.
The 33-year-old also said that the England tour had made him so nervous that he had considered skipping the Indian Premier League and had signed. A contract with Surrey County before an injury ended his plan to get an early series preparation.
Before the 2018 series, I planned to play county cricket. Because I thought I needed to prepare more, I was a little bit nervous.
However, Kohli stated, “I had a neck issue in 2018 and fell ill in one of the IPL games. I couldn’t go there because it got worse.”