"What is this dude talking about" - Robin Uthappa recalls 19-year-old Virat Kohli's comments as he opens up about his evolution

Former India batsman Robin Uthappa has opened up about Virat Kohli's evolution from 'a brash young Delhi boy to an involved human being'.

Robin Uthappa saw Kohli's evolution from very close. He was a part of the Royal Challengers Bengaluru team in 2009 and 2010 when Kohli was still trying to find his feet at the highest stage of the game. While Kohli was one of the most sought-after youngsters in the country at that time, not many had anticipated him to reach the heights that he had managed to do.

At that time, Kohli was also yet to transform his fitness. Like most of the youngsters, he loved to party and his dietary habit was not up to the mark either. However, Kohli took matters into his own hands soon and completely transformed himself. His hard work on his batting and fitness paid off soon as Kohli went on to become one of the best if not the best all-format player in the world.

Robin Uthappa on Virat Kohli's evolution:

Recalling Kohli's evolution, Robin Uthappa called it tremendous and said that the former India skipper is just reaping the rewards of what he had sown 15 years ago. The former batsman also shared just how confident Kohli was in his own abilities. Uthappa said that Kohli's level of conviction in his own abilities is driven by his sheer confidence in himself.

"I have actually seen Virat kind of evolve from a brash young Delhi boy to an involved human being. You know the evolution has been quite tremendous to be honest. Today he's practically reaping what he had sown 15 years ago," Robin Uthappa told Cricket.com.

"One of the things that has always stood out to me about chiku has been his conviction in himself. When I listen to a young 19-year-old Virat Kohli, you know talking about himself or his conviction in himself, you'll get mortified, you'll be like 'what is this dude talking about'.

"But fast forward 10 years and you be like 'okay now that makes sense'. He saw it, he believed it before a lot of us even saw it. I don't think I've ever said it but I think his his level of conviction and manifestation is driven purely by his confidence in himself and that could be a very Delhi thing," he added.

At present, Kohli is one of the most decorated batsmen of all time. He has scored heavily across formats and against all the opposition in the world. Kohli has been the face of cricket for more than a decade now. Only three players have managed to score more runs than him in international cricket.

Kohli has scored over 26000 runs across formats with the help of 80 centuries and 140 half-centuries. Meanwhile, the former India batsman was last seen in action during the T20 World Cup last month. He starred with the bat in the final as India beat South Africa to win the tournament. Following the final, he also announced his retirement from T20Is.