India’s former captain and World Cup-winning player, Virat Kohli recently opened up on the pressures faced throughout the tournament during the 2011 ODI World Cup. India will be hosting the ODI World Cup after 12 years, and the fans have returned with similar aspirations of lifting the trophy once again, after failing to win it constantly for over a decade.
During a promotional event in Bengaluru, Virat Kohli talked about how wherever they went during the world tournament, the fans told the squad that they wanted them to win, which added a lot of pressure. Kohli said how having social media then would have been a nightmare for the players considering the pressure they had on them back then. India will begin their ODI World Cup 2023 journey on 8 October against Australia in Chennai.
Virat Kohli on ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 Pressure during inter-state travel
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“The pressure is always there. The fans always say we want (the team) to win a cup very badly. I’d like to say no more than me. So, I’m in the right place. Honestly, I know the expectations are there and the emotions of the people are there. But please know that no one wants to win more than players,” said Virat Kohli.
“My career highlight is winning the World Cup in 2011. I was 23 at the time, and I probably didn’t understand the magnitude of it. But now at 34, and has played many World Cups, which we haven’t been able to win, So, I understand the emotions of all the senior players (in 2011),” added Virat Kohli.
“All the more for Sachin Tendulkar, as it was his last World Cup. He had already played many World Cups by then and to win it in Mumbai, his hometown, was very special for him. I mean, it was stuff from dreams,” said Virat Kohli.
“I remember the amount of pressure there was on all the players when we were travelling. Thankfully there was no social media back then. It would have been a nightmare, honestly. But through the airports, it was always just one thing — we needed to win the Cup. The senior players were always under the pump and had to handle all that pressure. It was just brilliant. And that night (after the WC win) in itself was something magical,” added Virat.
