Former India opener Aakash Chopra praised Virat Kohli for the way he has handled immense expectations throughout his career. Chopra said the batting great has carried a huge amount of pressure for more than a decade without ever letting the cricketing world see how demanding that responsibility truly was.
Kohli has scored 14,797 runs in 299 ODI innings at an average of 58.71. He has also amassed 9,230 runs in 123 Test matches at an average of 46.85 and 4,188 runs in 117 T20I innings at an average of 48.69. The batter has been ruled out of India's upcoming three-match ODI series against Afghanistan.
You Don't Even Realize the Burden He Has Been Carrying - Aakash Chopra on Virat Kohli
In a video shared on his YouTube channel, Aakash Chopra praised Virat Kohli for the way he has handled pressure throughout his career. The former India opener said Virat Kohli's greatest strength is his ability to remain unchanged by expectations and constant scrutiny.
"Just because I carried it well does not mean that it was not heavy. Who gives this life lesson? I am going to go with Virat Kohli here. The talk is about expectations and pressure. The talk is about your own standards. Virat Kohli wears it so well that you don't realize it. The special thing about him is that there is no change in his playing style. He has mastered this art," Chopra said.
"Some people are slightly cut above the rest. No matter how much pressure you put on them, their response, behaviour, body language, and persona do not change. You don't even realize that he has been carrying a very heavy burden on his shoulders for many years," he added.
Vaibhav Sooryavanshi and Virender Sehwag Have Given Us That Lesson - Aakash Chopra
Chopra cited players like Virender Sehwag and Vaibhav Sooryavanshi as examples of cricketers who challenged conventional thinking. He stated that their strengths helped them influence the way cricket is played at both the domestic and international levels.
"Do not follow the norm. Vaibhav Sooryavanshi and Virender Sehwag have given us that lesson. The way Virender Sehwag was playing Test cricket 20 years ago, everyone said that it was wrong. He said he would do it and do it very well. He said he would change the way Test cricket is played. It will be remembered that he was a trend-setter," Chopra said.
Vaibhav Sooryavanshi Is Doing the Same Thing Virender Sehwag Did - Aakash Chopra
Aakash Chopra said that Vaibhav Sooryavanshi has succeeded by backing his aggressive style of batting. The former India opener noted that Sooryavanshi has chosen a different path by focusing on attacking cricket and boundary-hitting.
"Vaibhav Sooryavanshi is doing the same thing now. He has seen his seniors playing differently, but he decided he won't do like that, and will only hit sixes. What Viru did in the early 2000s, he is doing the same thing in 2026. So you can carve your own niche," he added.
Vaibhav Sooryavanshi carried that aggressive approach into IPL 2026 and won the Orange Cap. The young batter scored 776 runs in 16 innings at a remarkable strike rate of 237.30.
