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    STUMP VISION                                                              MAY 29, 2026     |  The Indian Eye 43

                                                                      IPL 2026

                    Pressure is a Privilege,

                 Kohli Makes It Personal

                    Beneath Kohli’s performances lies the discipline that has defined his career for over a decade.
              His commitment to fitness, preparation, and recovery is not seasonal but a year-round lifestyle, allowing

                                      his intensity to remain unchanged across formats and occasions

                                                                                                                  mitment  to  fitness,  preparation,  and
                                                                                                                  recovery is not seasonal but a year-
                                                                                                                  round lifestyle, allowing his intensity
                                                                                                                  to remain unchanged across formats
                                                                                                                  and occasions. Whether in an ICC
                                                                                                                  tournament or a domestic fixture, he
                                                                                                                  approaches every contest with  the
                                                                                                                  same relentless commitment. That
                                                                                                                  drive  now  extends  beyond  personal
                                                                                                                  excellence.

                     ARCHAN MEHTA
                                                                                                                  Experience has transformed Virat
                   reatness survives longest when                                                                 Kohli into a mentor figure within
                   passion outlives pressure. Few                                                                 Indian cricket, with younger play-
            Gmodern athletes have lived                                                                           ers increasingly turning to him for
            under scrutiny as relentlessly as Vi-                                                                 guidance. By sharing knowledge
            rat Kohli. For over a decade, every                                                                   and pushing emerging talents to
            innings, dismissal, and reaction has                                                                  thrive under pressure, Kohli is
            been  magnified  beyond  the  bound-                                                                  helping  shape the  future culture
            ary ropes. Yet, at this stage of his ca-                                                              of Indian cricket.
            reer, Kohli appears to have reached a
            rare clarity. The chase for milestones                                                                    That  same  hunger  continues  to
            no  longer  defines  him;  the  records   Across 12 matches, Kohli amassed 484 runs at an average above 53 while maintaining a   fuel  his  ambitions  in  the  ODI  for-
            and centuries have already secured                    staggering strike rate of 165.75 (ANI)          mat. Having stepped away from Tests
            his place among cricket’s immortals.                                                                  and T20 internationals, Kohli’s focus
            What continues to drive him is some-  cy was unacceptable. Federer pursued   he produced an unbeaten 105 of su-  is now firmly fixed on the 2027 ODI
            thing far simpler,   an enduring love   technical perfection even while domi-  preme control, guiding Royal Chal-  World Cup. His performances in the
            for the game. He still speaks about the   nating tennis. Woods rebuilt his game   lengers Bengaluru to the top of the   format suggest both the hunger and
            nervous energy before walking out to   repeatedly despite already conquer-  table. Across 12 matches, he amassed   belief remain intact. More important-
            bat, the thrill of competition, and the   ing golf, while Ronaldo’s discipline   484 runs at an average above 53 while   ly, so does the emotional connection
            satisfaction of meeting the ball per-  extended his excellence deep into his   maintaining a staggering strike rate   to the game. Kohli no longer plays to
            fectly off the middle of the bat. Even   thirties. Kohli belongs naturally in that   of 165.75. Yet the numbers alone did   silence critics or protect a legacy; he
            now, Kohli admits to feeling butter-  company. Like them, he treats prepa-  not define the brilliance of his cam-  plays because cricket still moves him.
            flies before big games, viewing pres-  ration as a way of life rather than a   paign. Kohli blended the consistency   The celebrations may now be calmer
            sure not as a burden, but as a privilege   professional requirement. What binds   that shaped his early greatness with a   and the perspective more balanced,
            that keeps him grounded and fully in-  these athletes together is not merely   sharper appetite for domination. His   but the competitive fire remains un-
            vested in the contest.            success, but the refusal to lose their   innings against Kolkata was not reck-  mistakable. In an era consumed by
                That mindset places Kohli along-  love for the process that created it.  less aggression; it was calculated mas-
            side a select class of sporting icons   The 2026 IPL season has re-  tery. He manipulated gaps, absorbed   numbers and legacy debates, Kohli’s
                                                                                                                  greatest statement is perhaps the sim-
            whose  greatness  was built  as much   flected  that  freedom  and  hunger  in   pressure, and dismantled bowlers   plest one of all, true greatness belongs
            on obsession as talent. Athletes like   compelling fashion. After suffering   with precise, risk-free cricket, never   to those who never fall out of love
            Michael Jordan, Roger Federer, Ti-  the rare frustration of back-to-back   once appearing rushed by the rising   with the game.
            ger Woods, and Cristiano Ronaldo all   ducks, Kohli responded the way elite   demands of the chase.
            shared a relentless relationship with   competitors often do; with authority.   Beneath Kohli’s performances   Archan Mehta is a writer dedicated
            their craft. Jordan transformed prac-  In  a  high-pressure  clash  against  the   lies the discipline that has defined his   to telling compelling stories about
            tice into combat because complacen-  Kolkata Knight Riders in Raipur,   career for over a decade. His com-  athletes, teams, and the world of cricket

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