Virat Kohli Reveals Surprise Name For Cricketer Who Had The 'Biggest Impact' On Him

Star Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) batter Virat Kohli revealed how ex-South African wicketkeeper-batter Mark Boucher had the "biggest impact" on him during his early days with the franchise and helped him overcome difficulties in playing short balls. Virat was speaking on the RCB Podcast's latest episode, released on the franchise's YouTube channel. Speaking about Boucher, Virat said that he came with a mindset that he is going to help Indian players and saw a bit of potential in him. He also said that Boucher told him that he would be doing himself a "disservice" if he did not go on to play for India in all formats.

"So he figured out what my weaknesses could be. If I wanted to go to the next level, this is what I need to do without me asking him anything. And he said, okay, I have seen you play this, that, and the other. We need to work on this, that and a couple more things. I was like, okay. So he took me to the nets," he said.

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"He said, you need to work on the short ball. No one is going to give you a chance in international cricket if you cannot pull the ball. And I remember it was in a game we were playing in Chennai or Kolkata, one of the venues, where he told me that when I come to commentate in India four years from now, if I do not see you playing for India, you would do a disservice to yourself," he added.

Virat said that his conversations with Boucher left him stunned and pushed him to keep getting better.

"He had a massive impact on me in those early years. I was very realistic about my abilities. Because I had seen a lot of other people play. And I did not feel like my game was anywhere close to theirs. The only thing that I