In life we often tend to give up on things easily when they don’t go our way. At a time when we are losing patience every single second, we look for overnight success, rather than enjoying the journey till we reach our goal. For Virat Kohli, the real test lies in keeping that excitement alive when things aren’t getting your way.

Having made his presence felt in 2008 during India’s U19 World Cup triumph, Kohli has grown in stature to call himself a legend in his own merit. With T20 World Cup, ICC Champions Trophy, Asia Cup, ODI World Cup and IPL titles in his cabinet, Kohli has nothing left to be achieve.

Yet, the former Indian captain is hungry whenever he takes the field, even at the age of 37. Throughout his cricketing career, Kohli has had spoken several times about life lessons, thus inspiring generations of past and now. One among those quotes, is “keeping the excitement alive when things are not going your way is the real test”.

What does this quote mean?

The quote symbolises resilience. There will be at times when things won’t go well or according to your plan. Staying excited is easy, but to keep that excitement throughout is a real test in one’s life.

When did Virat Kohli made this quote?

Kohli made this comment in 2023, during the Women’s Premier League, when the Smriti Mandhana-led Royal Challengers Bengaluru lost their first five matches. In a pep talk, Kohli came to meet the whole RCB women squad and spoke for around 10 minutes. During his time with the RCB women cricketers, Kohli spoke largely focused on effort, commitment and how to embrace the pressure.

He highlighted his own 15-year journey without winning an IPL title. He also added, “If you had won five in a row, I wouldn’t have picked up the call to come here. I am just here to tell you that this is the real test, this will help you learn, and nit winning five in a row.” Incidentally, after Kohli’s speech, RCB women won against UP Warriorz – their first win that season.

How this quote relates to Virat Kohli?

The quote goes very well with Kohli. Despite his tremendous success for a longer period of time at the international level, Kohli went through a dry spell from 2019 to 2022. During that period, Kohli didn’t get a single hundred across the format, but Kohli kept fighting hard before returning to form with a century against Afghanistan in the 2022 Asia Cup. It was the same period where left his T20I and RCB leaderships to focus on his game.

The quote also relates Kohli’s test of patience to win an IPL title after 18 years. Despite not winning an IPL title for the first 17 years, the right-hander never complained but kept on performing to his best before finally lifting the silverware last year as RCB defeated Punjab Kings in the final.

What’s next for Virat Kohli?

Having already retired from Tests and T20Is, Kohli only plays one-day format for India, besides the IPL. The last time Kohli played in Indian colours was in January when the Men in Blue hosted New Zealand at home. He will be next seen in RCB colours, when the defending champions start their campaign against Sunrisers Hyderabad in Bengaluru on March 28.

Upon reaching Bengaluru for IPL 2026, Kohli sent a strong message, stating, “Every time I wear this jersey, I’m all in. Ready for another special chase.” He concluded by reminding, “same chapter, new story.”

Virat Kohli’s IPL numbers

Kohli is the all-time leading run-scorer in IPL. The only player to play for a single franchise in the history of IPL, Kohli currently is a holder of 8661 runs in 267 matches. He also holds the record for most number of hundreds in IPL – eight – one clear of England’s Jos Buttler in the second spot.

With 973 runs in 2016 season, Kohli still holds the record for most runs scored by a batter in a single edition of IPL. He is just 339 runs away from becoming the first player in history to 9000 IPL runs and just nine sixes shy of reaching a triple hundred of maximums.

Can Virat Kohli score 10000 runs for RCB?

Kohli could become the first Indian player to score 10000 runs for a single team in T20 cricket in the upcoming edition of IPL. With 9085 (8661 + 424) runs, Kohli needs just 915 runs to complete 10000 runs for RCB. The right-hander had scored 424 runs for RCB in the now-defunct Champions League T20. While 915 is a mountain to climb, but for Kohli, nothing is impossible. He has already scored 950-plus runs in the 2016 edition.

Virat Kohli quotes that inspire many

• Self-belief and hard work will always earn you success.
• Whatever you want to do, do it with full passion and work really hard towards it. Don’t look anywhere else.”
• I love playing under pressure. In fact, if there’s no pressure, then I’m not in the perfect zone.
• I like to always lead from the front and set an example for whoever is playing with me or around me. I like taking responsibilities. That is my natural thing.
• If there is a one percent chance and sometimes that one percent chance is good enough.