"Earlier My Aggression Was a Problem, Now My Calmness": Virat Kohli Mocks Critics

Star India batter Virat Kohli opened up on balancing his calm and aggressive personas on and off the field, saying that people have had problems with both of his sides and his competitiveness has "not gone down" despite him becoming a calmer presence on-field in recent years. Virat was speaking on the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) Innovation Lab Indian Sports Summit ahead of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025. While Virat has become a much calmer personality on the field, he garnered controversy during the latest Border-Gavaskar Trophy for shoulder-charging a young Sam Konstas during his debut in the fourth Test at Melbourne and for his more taunting, in-your-face interactions with the crowd, which referenced to the 'Sandpaper Gate', the ball-tampering controversy which led to a one-year-ban on Australian stars Steve Smith and David Warner following a tour to South Africa in 2018.

Speaking during the summit as quoted by ESPNCricinfo, Virat said, about his on-field persona "It is naturally kind of getting tapered down again". "People are not happy about that either. I do not know what to do, to be honest. Earlier, my aggression was a problem, now my calmness is a problem. It is like, I have no idea what needs to be done, that is why I do not focus on it much," he added.

"The kind of person I am, the kind of personality I have, yes, I do have tendencies to kind of go overboard. And I've never shied away from that. But the starting point is, okay, sometimes it might not have gone out with the right intent, but more often than not, the starting point has been of care. I want this all to be an event that helps my team win. That is why you see the celebration that I have when we pick up a wicket in a tight situation.