Why Steve Waugh thinks Kohli is world's best batsman
On meeting Virat Kohli for the first time at the Feroz Shah Kotla ground in the capital in November 2009 - a couple of weeks before he would leave for national duty against Sri Lanka - the first thing I asked him was his reaction to Delhi's decision on playing the Ranji Trophy games that season at the bowler-friendly Roshanara Club Ground, rather than the flat decks at Kotla. All Kohli said was: "How do I care? You don't get freebies on the international stage."
The reaction from fellow journalists was: "Told you he is rude." Initially, it seemed like I should have paid heed to the senior journalists who had asked me to stay away from the cheeky young star of the Delhi team.
But looking back, it does make a lot of sense. He might not have said it in the most eloquent manner, but then, he is no doctorate in English literature.
What he did want to say was that he loved the challenges and that the playing conditions didn't bother him.
More than Kohli, the problem lies in our upbringing where we are told from a very young age that a good person is one who always speaks in a respectful manner. But then, he is here to play the game of cricket, not win hearts with sugar-coated words.
Walking the talk has always been Kohli's forte and if one looks at his career graph, there is enough evidence for a legend is in the making. However, his ineloquent mannerism has once again landed him in trouble. And this time, it is his willingness to harp on the word "aggression".
Ever since taking over the reins of captaincy from MS Dhoni in Test cricket, he has expressed his desire to go out and win matches. In fact, he has made no bones about the fact that he is willing to indulge in verbal volleys if that helps distracting opposition players.
And as always, we Indians are the first ones to pull him down. Pundits from across the country have been questioning his influence on his teammates. In fact, Ishant Sharma's verbal duel with Dhammika Prasad in the third Test of the just-concluded three-match series in the Island Nation was seen as Kohli's influence on his lead pacer. What critics tend to forget is that Ishant isn't a ten-year-old who needs classes on conduct from Kohli.
While everyone took the opportunity to criticise the skipper, what they forgot was how it was Kohli who had asked Ishant to focus on the job at hand in the first place when Ishant was bent on another duel in the second innings of the same Test.
Mind games and verbal duels are part of international sports these days and being aggressive isn't such a bad thing after all.
And if there was even an iota of doubt about Kohli's attitude, former Australia skipper and the master of mind games, Steve Waugh, put that to rest when he said that he has asked his son to idolise Kohli. "I think he is probably the best batsman in the world. Technically, he is fantastic. I have a 16-year-old son and I have told him 'if you need someone as your role model, I think he should be Virat Kohli'. He should aspire to play like him," Waugh said.
Waugh went on to add that while Kohli does cross the line once in a while, he likes the passion. "I like aggression in players, if it can be controlled. Sometimes, Virat crosses the line a little bit but I like his passion. Virat Kohli will go down as an all-time great," he said.