Virat Kohli reminds me of myself, the entire country is looking up to him: Dhanraj Pillay

Dhanraj Pillay, the former captain of the Indian hockey team, said that he sees shadows of himself in Virat Kohli, the captain of the national cricket team. Back during his playing days, the 51-year-old was a popular figure and the Delhi-born Virat hasn’t been any different. The latter has over 21,000 runs for Team India and at the age of 31, he is expected to rack up a lot of records.

Pillay, who’s won the Arjuna Award and Padma Shri Award, said that Virat sets an example for others, motivating his teammates. The Khadki-born Pillay stated that Kohli prioritises his country over anything else and it reminds him of himself.

The entire country is looking up to Virat Kohli, says Pillay

“Whenever I see Virat on TV, I often feel aye yaar yeto aapne jaisa banda hai (he is like me). When you are playing for India, the country comes first and then your name, state and religion. Virat replicates that sentiment whenever he takes the field for India. He knows how to motivate his players. I like it a lot,” Pillay was quoted as saying to Sportskeeda on Friday, June 5.

Virat is deemed to be a ‘bad boy’ of cricket owing to his attacking approach on the field. The netizens as well as a few of the experts have criticised Virat for sledging the opponents. However, Pillay has backed Kohli, saying that there’s nothing about bad or good boys. As per him, Virat’s passion for his nation is all that matters.

“There is no question of bad boys or good boys. He is fighting for his country. When you enter the field, you want to win all the matches. You just can’t go in and have a fun game and come out. The entire country is looking up to him and cricket is such a popular game that it has become a religion in the country,” he added.

Virat made his debut in 2008 and after 12 years, he is also being counted among the best courtesy his numbers. He is also India’s most successful Test skipper after he surpassed MS Dhoni in the tour of the West Indies last year. Moreover, he has averages over 50 in all the three formats for Team India.