{"id":210687,"date":"2025-10-19T09:22:07","date_gmt":"2025-10-19T09:22:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/210687\/"},"modified":"2025-10-19T09:22:07","modified_gmt":"2025-10-19T09:22:07","slug":"virat-kohli-recalls-hostile-australian-crowds-thanks-ex-rcb-teammate-for-making-him-battle-ready-for-down-under-cricket-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/210687\/","title":{"rendered":"Virat Kohli recalls \u2018hostile\u2019 Australian crowds, thanks ex-RCB teammate for making him battle-ready for Down Under | Cricket News"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"ViratVirat Kohli of India looks on before game one of the One Day International series between Australia and India at Perth Stadium on October 19, 2025 in Perth, Australia. (Photo by Paul Kane\/Getty Images) Former India captain Virat Kohli<\/a> admitted on Sunday that the intense and aggressive Australian cricketing environment tested his resilience. However, he believes that facing this atmosphere while playing his fearless brand of cricket strengthened his mindset, shaped his career, and contributed to his personal growth.Kohli first toured Australia in 2011, where he faced a hostile reception from the crowd. Over time, though, he noted that the initial aggression eventually gave way to respect.<\/p>\n

‘Unfair at this stage!’: Virat Kohli’s childhood coach on the treatment of senior duo Virat-Rohit<\/p>\n

\u201cEven the Australian setup, how they played their cricket, how they were always in your face, intimidating and taking the game on \u2014 that inspired me to come here and do the same. Early on, it was easier to watch on television than be part of that hostile environment, but I am really grateful for those times because they shaped me as a cricketer and as a person.\u201d\u201cThat really tests your mental strength and resilience, because once you start copping it from the crowd, you can\u2019t escape \u2014 you\u2019ve got to come back every day,\u201d added Kohli, who returned to India colors after seven months and got out for a duck.Kohli recalled conversations with former England captain Kevin Pietersen<\/a>, with whom he shared the Royal Challengers Bangalore dressing room in the IPL, saying they helped him prepare for Australia\u2019s unique challenges.\u201cI didn\u2019t understand it initially, to be honest. But guys like Kevin Pietersen, who faced it before, told me that in Australia, it feels like they are at you the whole time, but at heart, they respect you standing up and playing that kind of cricket,\u201d Kohli said.\u201cSo, don\u2019t take it personally, don\u2019t take it to heart. You just go out there and play competitive cricket. You realise how good you are and, over time, how it shapes you mentally. I have nothing but gratitude for those experiences. The crowd being at me really brought out the best in me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Poll<\/p>\n

What aspect of Virat Kohli’s experience in Australia do you find most inspiring?<\/p>\n

Under those trying circumstances, Kohli said he had no option but to give his \u201c120 percent.\u201d\u201cI had no choice but to be 120 percent. There was no chance I wasn\u2019t going to perform in this country, in these hostile conditions. I\u2019ve had great times here as a cricketer. Off the field, people have been relaxed and respectful. Walking on the street, seeing genuine smiles \u2014 I really enjoyed my time here.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Virat Kohli of India looks on before game one of the One Day International series between Australia and…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":210688,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[90720,1721,90721,90722,19026,69240,15623,101,56,54,55,15624,7682],"class_list":{"0":"post-210687","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-cricket","8":"tag-australian-crowds","9":"tag-cricket","10":"tag-cricket-in-australia","11":"tag-hostile-environment","12":"tag-kevin-pietersen","13":"tag-royal-challengers-bangalore","14":"tag-sachin-tendulkar","15":"tag-sports","16":"tag-uk","17":"tag-united-kingdom","18":"tag-unitedkingdom","19":"tag-virat-kohli","20":"tag-virender-sehwag"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/210687","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=210687"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/210687\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/210688"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=210687"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=210687"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=210687"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}