What makes Virat Kohli believe

Very few are blessed with the ability to walk the talk, especially if the talk is big. Virat Kohli's team-mate, confidante and partner-in-success over the last year, R Ashwin exudes a sense of admiration when he talks about his captain. "Many a time, I have seen him say 'Okay, don't worry, I'll make the runs'. It could be even 400 runs and he would say he will make it. That's an amazing sense of self-confidence for someone to have. And he's got extraordinary skill to back that confidence."

But confidence is a fickle companion, probably the ficklest of them all. There is a need for recognition, constant reassurance and an unending hope that it doesn't desert you. Kohli's relationship with it isn't dissimilar.

"Honestly, it is an ongoing process. When it (loss of confidence) happens initially, lot of it is related to the stress that is created around you and the things that you need to stay away from," says Kohli to Cricbuzz, sitting in the confines of his caravan in Mumbai's Mehboob Studio. It is a day after India's Test series win against England and there is a constant buzz around the vehicle. Not just because of him, there are other advertisements being shot in the adjacent studios. A couple of Bollywood stars had arrived around the same time for a separate ad shoot but the people waiting to have just a word, or a quick selfie with the India captain were understandably many. Kohli is pressed for time, having to catch another flight in the evening to Chennai for the next Test and you understand that his time isn't his alone. But Kohli is at peace with all of it, what he was referring to initially had a different context.

"Honestly, it is a very natural thing all around the world that people like to criticise more than they like to support. To be very honest, it is not taking a dig at anyone. It is stating a fact. Even having a general conversation, people like to get involved in talking negative about someone very quickly. Talking about someone very positively ends in ten minutes. You don't have anything more to say after ten minutes. How much can you praise someone after ten minutes. But you can keep going on about someone's negativities for a while."

Much like Ashwin, Kohli feels strongly about how a blow to confidence at a young age is difficult to recover from.

"I think as a youngster you tend to succumb to them. You obviously want to do well, you want to make a name yourself. You want to represent your country, score runs and perform but when those things don't happen, you stoop down to a level of confidence where it is really devastating for an individual. Not many people everyone realise how badly criticism can hit an individual and it can ruin someone's life if they don't find a way out of it.

"People have gone into depression, can go into depression and it is a very dangerous kind of situation. I have gone through those times. What I have learnt from that is, for me now failures are an opportunity to learn. It is no more trying to prove anyone wrong or being too hard on myself that I didn't get runs because I know that some of the days I will get so many runs that I don't expect of myself. But failures for me is an opportunity to learn. I don't get frustrated with it, I don't get annoyed with it. At the end of the day, over the last two-three years, I have realised that failures have made me a better player and individual. You just have to be patient and go through with it saying that this also is a part of the bigger plan. And you have to accept that this also is a phase that comes in life and deal with it well. That's the only thing you can do. Sometimes, you know you are not in the head-space to get runs or the opposition is going to get the better of you. Those are the times you have to hang in there and realise that these failures are very important for your own growth."

It is an answer that he would have liked to have given his younger self. Or perhaps one that could inspire many a kid that looks up to him. The theme of the interview was one of self-belief, which is often the antidote at moments of down-time. For Kohli, the moment that told him that he belonged and gave him the reassurance happened when he was in his teens.

"One was a trial game for U-15 state selections, very important game for me, in DDCA in Feroz Shah Kotla, everyone was watching. I was rejected the year before. I ended up getting 72 playing against all the state bowlers that year. That gave me belief that I can get selected, I can score runs for my state team," he says. "The second was getting my first double century in state cricket in the U-17 against Himachal. I scored 251, remained not out and explored that day that I can do much more than what I think of myself."

It seems a distant memory given the paths that Kohli has progressed since. At the time of the interview, he was still the captain in only one format. Now, he's leading the Indian team in all three. When he was still in his early days as a Test captain in Sri Lanka in 2015, Kohli had been asked to prioritise mental strength, skills, fitness and strategy. Kohli, then, placed mental strength right at the top followed by fitness. Now though, there is a rider that goes along with the prioritisation.

"Mental strength is something that has always been very, very important. (Pause) I would say the standards... I would break it down 70-30. 70% is mental still, the cricket aspect of it. 30% is fitness related. But the standards of those 30% have gone SO high."

It is in fitness, as much as any of his on-field exploits, that Kohli has set the highest benchmark over the last few years. His transition from a chubby, talented youngster to a bicep-flaunting run-machine has been well-documented. You don't need a 'before-after' image like movie stars to marvel at the achievement, Kohli's 2016 is testament enough. He had his best batting year across formats - scoring runs, important runs across formats for both India and his Indian Premier League side, Royal Challengers Bangalore. For him, putting on the India jersey means a commitment to keep working hard. And it is for this reason that he is an emphatic advocate of how it helps him.

"Absolutely," he says, "The more fit I am, it gives me confidence mentally - even 15-20 % more than I would have otherwise. So when I am feeling absolutely fit, I don't any niggles in my body, I know I am absolutely ready. All I need to do is go out there and follow my instincts, follow my game-plans. I don't have to worry about anything else. That really take off mental pressure of any kind that you feel."

It isn't that the other 70% is needed less on the field but the challenge now for players is to get on the field as many times as possible, and it is here that Kohli argues for the other 30%.

"The mental side of things have also gotten tougher because we are playing three formats, you are playing the IPL as well. There is non-stop cricket. And you HAVE to keep performing. People obviously expect a lot of things from you and when you start performing, then you're not just a performer or specialist. You're representing teams everywhere and you want to keep scoring. So how do you do that? You need to find a formula. You need to work on the mental side of things. At the same time, you have to top up your physical fitness to the extent that you do not miss out on any games. And that's something I have understood over the last couple of years. And it's something I keep a check on on a daily basis because I want to play quality cricket for the next ten years. Unless it's a freak injury or something, I don't want to be someone who is not playing because of niggles. I don't believe in that and I don't feel that inside me. That's something that really keeps me going that I have a strong routine for myself to be 120% match fit before every game that I play. That's my only motivation - to be as ready as possible. So that I give myself the best chance to perform."

Once the hard yards are done to get on the field, it doesn't get any easier obviously. In fact, mood-swings on the field can vary from ball to ball. To sustain that energy is when Kohli also turns towards the other side and changes from captain to cheerleader. It is another thing that he fiercely believes in.

"It helps immensely, honestly. The energy of the crowd. It somehow gets transfered onto the field and within the players. If the whole stadium believes that we can win the game or we can turn things around, then more often than not, it happens. Positive energy attracts positive energy. And it's a classic example of that.

"Most of the (cheerleading) is to motivate the bowlers to give that extra 20% because they understand that people are behind them and they want to the bowlers to make that important impact or breakthrough for the team.

"I realise that if I can help give that atmosphere, then why not. I'm not going to stand there and not do things. I understand what is important, at that stage, for the team. And it is only because of that. So my bowlers can feel more inspired and motivated to give that extra 20%, which has been the difference in closing games off or letting them slip. So you just apply 20% extra pressure, get the crowd behind you."

But this effort sometimes end up with amusing results. The crowds in India turn up with as much intent to watch their stars as enjoying the cricket itself. So when Kohli tries his cheerleading act, some end up chanting his name instead of the bowlers'.

"We face those things when we go abroad and that sporting culture needs to be created in India where people understand what the team is wanting to do and get behind the player.

"In Mumbai, it happened, it was very evident. Because people understand the sport much better. They have a knowledge of where a batsman is looking to play, how the bowler is looking to set up a batsman and get him out. So the crowd always gets behind the player when they know that the team is dominating and the situation is ours. Those things matter a lot. You don't have to say much here (Mumbai). But the other crowds, you have to get them more involved in understanding the situation. I only hope this sporting culture is created in the next five to ten years where the team inevitably know that, we enter a stadium there is going to be a big crowd and they are going to support the team no matter what. That is needed very badly and Mumbai was a classic example for everyone to come and watch Test cricket in India," says the India captain.

It's a classic give-and-take that he calls for. After all, much of self-belief and confidence is about that.