Virat Kohli seeks development of sporting culture in India

Mumbai: After team’s successful return from a successful South Africa tour, where they won the ODI and T20 series after losing Test series, skipper Virat Kohli has opted for a break and won’t feature in the 2018 Nidahas Trophy in Sri Lanka. While he won’t be in action from the cricket field, it is difficult to keep the Indian cricket team skipper away from the stadiums.

Kohli, who co-owns Indian Super League (ISL) side FC Goa, was recently at the Nehru Stadium in Fatorda to support the Goan side. On the sidelines of the game, Kohli spoke about what’s his “ultimate aim”.

“My ultimate aim in life in general is to have a sporting culture in India where people know each and every sport inside out; to be able to follow all sports equally. I am certainly excited about the fact that we are at a juncture where we have a chance to create that in the next 10-15 years and we foresee Goa as the hub where footballers feel, ‘if I want to become a high-class footballer in India, I need to go there and train’,” Kohli was quoted as saying by Times of India.

Kohli, who once led India Under-19 side to the World Cup glory, also revealed why cricket achieved more success than football in India.

"It's lack of leagues like this at a major level. There is nothing like globalising the sport. With the kind of visibility on television and the kind of access that people have, it's creating awareness. People know Indian players. People even watched all those who played at the Under-17 World Cup. It's all about visibility. Unless you get to show your talent, on television screens, it's very difficult for people to start liking something," said Kohli.

"It happened with me as well. If our Under-19 World Cup wasn't televised, maybe I wouldn't have been sitting here. Our matches were televised and we got our chance to portray our talent. Then people started talking about us. The kind of visibility that the league has will play a major role," added Kohli.

The Indian cricket team skipper also discussed the team’s warm-up sessions where they play football. Asked how the team members enjoy it, Kohli said, “We love it. There is a motivation attached to football. If you ask me to run 20 laps around the field, I would get bored after a while. But if you ask me to play a football match after a training session, I would keep running after that ball because I have a chance to do something with it. It’s a beautiful sport; everyone in the team likes it, and we love to show off as well.”