Former Australia all-rounder Shane Watson, who played under India skipper Virat Kohli for Indian Premier League side Royal Challengers Bangalore, told the Australian publication The Daily Telegraph on Monday that the Indian skipper’s passion arose from his “burning desire to win”.
“He [Kohli] expects everyone in his team to be exactly the same as him. Which is a great thing as a leader for him and for the Indian team, because he expects a lot of his teammates,” said Watson. “He expects everyone to be on board with exactly how he is, and of course he’s more outward with how he does that, but that doesn’t mean it’s bad at all.”
Watson also dismissed any notion that Kohli had a temper. “He just rides the highs and lows of the game from an emotional point of view.”
“One of the things I absolutely love about Virat is he’s got such a deep down burning desire to win — and obviously he’s up to pushing the limits,” said the former Aussie all-rounder. “It’s a great thing for his team because they just get behind him as well.”
While comparing Kohli and Australia skipper Steve Smith, Watson stated that the reason behind the entire DRS fracas was the “ultra-competitive” vibe shared by both the captains.
“I just know more than anything how much it means to these two guys,” Watson said. “They’re both ultra-competitive. Virat’s outwardly more emotional about how much he loves winning. Steve has that same burning ambition...he’s just not as visible as Virat.”
Watson tipped Kohli and Smith to become greats in the years to come, “I think it’s two players who are the best in the world and in time they will be greats of international cricket. To see two young-ish skippers going head-to-head like this in such an awesome series. A lot of people love to be able to see two guys putting it all on the line for their teams.”