Big Ben x Karim Benzema – "Pichichi" (Music Video)

Make some noise for VK18.5. Okay, lights, camera, action, rolling. Is everything ready? I was so excited because we've sat together so many times and everyone was thinking about sports. Sports. You're here because of sports. Everyone plays a sport. Let me ask you, in the beginning, if Virat Kohli did not play a sport at any point in life, where would he be? I have no idea. Honestly. I've said it a couple of times, probably do some kind of business with my brother or something. Because business was something that I saw growing up in the family. My path was different because of sport. So, I say business because that's the only other thing I knew. Or I had seen. If you didn't play sports, you know I'm saying sports, not to become a sportsman. Do you think anyone can be as successful in any profession, in any aspect of life, without learning sports lessons? I don't think so. Maybe people have been successful. But the values that I've understood through sports, that what contribution does it bring in your life, no matter what sport you play, it's not only cricket. Cricket, obviously, is looked at from a different lens, especially in our country. But if you play any sport, you'll see a certain sense of discipline, a certain sense of structure in any sport. Even if you're playing tennis ball cricket, if you're playing a sport, you'll have to bring the stumps first. You'll have to mark a certain place. There's a certain planning. That we'll play here, we'll play like this, we'll play like this, there will be rules, if you hit this wall, you're out. If you hit that, you're out. So, what I'm saying is that it opens up a side of you which is making you a more productive person. Even while playing sports. Physically, you're getting the benefits. But you also have to think. When you want to win, you have to think, you have to plan. And that brings out more from people than what they imagine. So, I feel that the value of sports, in any profession, the value of playing any sport is very immense. Now, we're talking about street cricket, you're out on this wall, you're out on that wall. Let's walk in the streets once. Were you one of those who used to take a bat, or stumps, or a ball, or the whole kit? So, actually, I was the emotional kid. Right? Because I loved playing cricket. And everyone in our society knew about it. So, I used to play with my brother's friends. He's seven years elder to me. Because I didn't like playing with boys of my age. I used to feel that I needed a bit of competition. Right? I just felt like I could play with these big boys. So, they started making me part of their teams and I started playing with them. So, they understood that there's a lot of insects in cricket. So, we used to have stumps in our house, we used to have bats in our house. We used to have the ball that we used to play with in our house. I used to take everything with me. And when the glass used to break, everyone used to run home. I was alone on the ground, I had to take the stumps back. I had to get scolded by my aunts too. I had to ask them for the ball, I had to take the bat too. I never used to fight with anyone. There was no physical chance. I thought someone would kill me and leave. I would die, he wouldn't know what would happen. So, I never used to get into... You know what the follow-up question will be, right? You can say anything, but I don't fight with anyone physically. All the crew members have smiles on their faces. They say, if there's a verbal mention going on, if someone raises their hand and says, -"Stay here." -"I do that on the ground too." I know there can't be a fight there. We'll come out and fight. First time. First time ever we've gotten to this depth. Oh, nice. What are some of the names that you remember? It could be the aunts who used to abuse you or the nicknames of the kids in the neighbourhood. Let me see how many can you remember. I remember quite a few actually. The kids we used to play cricket with, they're my brother's friends. There was a boy, his name was Bantu. A Kabablu. I'm telling you about the society. Then a really good friend of mine, his name was... Jai Ganesh. The family was from South India. And they used to live in our society. He was the one who suggested my father to get him into the academy because he had an idea about cricket. So, he saw me play and he told my father that I should make him practice professionally. He got an insight from there. Then he asked me, I said, yes, of course, I want to. In school. Because we'll come to school now. Because if you want to change the culture, I think the first and the biggest step should be in school. What were some of your teachers? Were they like, Virat, play. Or were there some who were like, Virat, why are you missing classes? Early days, before you were playing a lot of competitive stuff. I was in a school called Vishal Bharti, which was in West Delhi. Because that's where I grew up. It's in the Pashim Vihar area, the school was there. So, I studied there till 8th standard. And I used to play cricket. I had to take a lot of holidays from there because there were matches. So, the teachers were very cooperative. I never felt like that in school. At least, at the time that I was growing up, that there was a lot of academic competition and stress. At least, in my own experience. From there, we moved to a school called Saviour Convent. Because that was also in West Delhi. Similar area. Because our cricket academy was in that school. So, the school proposed to our coach that why don't you get these kids into our school. We'll make a school team. We'll make a strong school team as well. So, he said it's a great idea. So, we all joined and then we made a school team. Then we started playing school tournaments as well. The cricket academy was different from the school. You know, there were Salwan boys, Gyan Bhartis, Modern Barakhamba and all these teams were very strong. So, we didn't get to play those tournaments. So, we made our own team and started playing with it. So, there, actually, once or twice... Once, actually, there was an amazing incident. There was a vice-principal and she used to teach English. And she was the vice-principal. Supposedly, she was a very strict teacher. So, I missed her class and I was playing volleyball outside. And the class was right in front of me because the class was on the ground floor and she could see. And the whole class could see and I was playing with seniors in the school. I was playing volleyball with them. And I totally forgot that our physical period was over. And I was playing and she didn't say anything to me. She came to me, she was like, are you really interested in studying? I said, ma'am, if you ask me very honestly, I'm just doing this to pass my whatever grade I'm in. She said, where's your interest? I said, I love cricket. It's everything for me. She said, then follow that completely. Wow. Which standard is this? I was in 11th. Okay. I had just finished the 10th boards and we had just gone into the 11th standard. And this is when the conversation happened. I was like, it was such a nice thing for me to hear that I wasn't being pressurized. You know, sports should be preferred, in my opinion. Those who have a preference for academics, there are many kids who don't like sports. You know, so they are doing their work. But there are some who feel forced. So, there should be a space for them where they can also feel like we also are a part of the same institution, but we also have our own space, our own place to grow. Our own interests are being taken care of. Basically, it's simply put, like you said, right? I have an interest in sports. So, that means it's a subject, right? Yes. So, if it's a science subject, a math subject, a Hindi subject, an English subject, then sport is a subject. So, do you think one thing… So, let there be sport. I mean, just the campaign sounds so good, right? For sports aficionados. Sport is not a one-week PE period. No. It's not extracurricular, right? What is it? If you were sitting and addressing maybe the school communities, what would you tell them? I would tell them, don't make them just play sport. Teach them. Because when I was growing up, I had no idea about rules and regulations of majority of the sports around me. Now, when we play cricket, you understand the way the situation of the game is going. So, as a fielder, when you're standing in the field, what distance should you be from the batter to make a difference here? Do you have to be five steps back or do you attack five steps more? Because you can sense that he's trying to do this particular thing, the ball might land up here and you need to be physically fit enough to be in that place to eventually make a difference. This is all learning. This is not happening by chance. It's not only fun and games. So, the important thing is to teach them the small details of what it means to play a sport. Playing a sport means you're totally aware in every moment. You're totally present with what's going on. It's not just, ha ha, hee hee and karan. You have to be present. You have to do that thing with absolute commitment with fine details. With that, that same intent can be applied anywhere in life. Because once you're involved in that moment, you will give your best output, whether it's for sport, whether it's for work, anything. It helps you in your attention span and to be able to focus so much. It's so underrated and people don't actually realise this about sport a lot of the times. That's why the people who end up playing sport at a higher level, you can ask anyone, they are absolutely, precisely focused and present in the most stressful moments. You can apply that anywhere in life. So, this is not taught. Sport is seen only for fun and games in schools. But if you're playing a sport, if you're playing basketball, if you're playing volleyball, I'm talking about Kabaddi, Kho-Kho, whatever you're playing. You explain to them what it means to understand angles. What is anticipation? If you're playing Kho-Kho, where will he turn? Which guy will... So, you start preparing accordingly. Your senses develop so much that you start becoming intuitive. I'm not kidding. I mean, through playing sport, I've become so intuitive because once you start perceiving the situation, like how will this happen? Where would the situation lead to? And you always have that little bit of insight. You feel a lot of things with your gut feeling that you should do this. And once you follow it and it happens, then you start trusting it in every situation. Whether it's with people, whether it's with sport, whether anything. Whether you're driving, you always get a... There's always something that you need to be careful about. So, all these things, my senses started developing way more after I started understanding how sport is played because I had a passion for it. Passion. It was something that I absolutely loved doing. So, I learnt it very differently. For me, it was not fun and games. You tell me about leadership. Virat, I mean, leadership is... That's why I just love doing these interviews, right? You just get to know so much more. Leadership is a knack inside, but then you also see someone, you sometimes look up to someone. What was leadership for you? What did you learn from sport? Maybe anything? See, leadership, I learnt from many people. I learnt a lot from MS because I played majority of my career under him the initial years. But in general, I feel leadership is firstly, to be able to take responsibility for yourself. Right? If you can't take responsibility for yourself or for your own space or for your own well-being, hygiene, whatever it is, you cannot take responsibility for any other person. I had this tendency in me to follow my heart and to go for things naturally. It was the reason why I could urge everyone else around me to go for it and tell them, it's fine. Trust me, it'll be okay. Because I've experienced it. It's not like I'm reading it off a book and saying, come on, we have to play with positive intent. I felt it, I've been there, I've succeeded, I've failed. I've learnt from failures, but that has not stopped me from trying again. So, it is... When you get rid of the insecurities you have as an individual, you'll be able to become, firstly, your own leader in your own space. And then be able to take responsibility for the others as well. So that if things go wrong, because the one thing that stops us from realising how good we can be is failure, is insecurity, right? What if it goes wrong? What if it goes out? What if it doesn't pass? What if we don't get a job? What if we lose our CV? What if it doesn't go through? It's the reason why you never really fully commit to it. So, at a level where you realise, okay, I've tried this, I've seen ups and downs with it, now I can tell these people, go for it. I'm here. If it goes wrong, I'll take care of it. But don't stop trying. There's no such instance... Because it's not necessary that someone I look up to as a leader might have a way of life. Someone who is inspiring, but can be different from me. It could take me time to buy into your theory. 100 percent. One thing I learnt from MS and other people that I've seen lead also, you cannot make everyone happy all the time. This is the absolute truth. And why that happens is because certain individuals will not buy into the intensity of what you're saying immediately. So, they try to find their own comfortable ways which you have to ignore. Because the vision is priority. It's not saying that I'm going to run it. No, I've been given the responsibility. This is the plan. Because I think this plan will take us to the top. This is our path. If you tell someone to run, you can tell someone to get up and run. If you tell someone not to do it, it'll be a problem. It's no use. We'll waste so much time. We're not making the most of our time. You eventually want to enjoy yourself. All these small things matter. Get that guy around in a different way. But the goal is the same. He has to run, he has to run. But you can't say that you won't do it. Because to get there, someone else, third, fourth, fifth, six people are ready to work ten times harder than you. Was there anything like that? Some things that you maybe realized while looking back that I could have done this better. Maybe as a leader, I could have done this better. Purely in hindsight. 100 percent. So I have no shame in accepting that I have made many mistakes when I was a captain. But the one thing I know for sure that I never did anything for my own selfish motives. I can take guarantee of that from day one to the last day. I didn't do a single thing for myself. I had only one goal. How to take the team forward. In that, whether you took the right decision or not, I can totally accept it. You make mistakes. Like you make errors when you play, you get out. That's a failure. Failures will keep happening. But intent was never in the wrong place. So I can absolutely take guarantee of that. And as long as it's in the right place, you will make mistakes, but you will learn from them. As I said, you will not then start shying away from making mistakes. So, my intention was always right. Like I said, you have to tweak the way you do things. Decisions. Many times, they were wrong. And those things teach you a lot. And then you start taking it as the whole journey. And what went well, what didn't go right. And then you learn from all situations. So, that's exactly what happened to me. Amazing. Talking about journey, no one has ever had a journey like this. And if everything goes well, then it's not fun. Then it's not fun. No. Right? You realize this is subject... Relativity, right? 100%. So, I've got a couple of images that I want to show you. Now that we talk about two, two and a half years, which were weird, which were different. And in that, I want to find out what was the process. What was the process of two and a half years? And correct me if I'm wrong. In the outside, whatever I try to look at, it looks like disbelief. No, it can't be happening. Reluctant acceptance, acceptance and then revival. And this photo, I think, defines it pretty well. I remember I was on commentary as well. And everyone was like, man, in this knock. And that phase was getting defined. Good shots, it was going in the scatches. But never seen you like that. Your reaction going back, looking up, that it's happening. Just first tell me about this photo, this moment and then we'll talk more. How do I put it? I mean, things turning around in a way that they did ever since I came back. It was because I decided to step away and really, really, deeply connect to myself again. Doing things from a very superficial point of view. Which is, who am I to people? What are they expecting of me? What am I expected to go and do? It was never about how I'm feeling, what I want to do. In this moment, what is it that I really, really want to do? You know, which is close to my heart. When you go into this phase that I went into, the focus is very difficult to stay in the middle lane. Which has gotten you to the place that you are. That is exactly what happened with me. Because my focus shifted, I started looking at the situation differently. I was in the wrong lane. When I came back to my lane that I'm closest to, everything started flowing again. Because I'm not thinking about this part of, you know, what I do. Hopefully, I will keep being in this space that I will drift. But then you come back very quickly. Because you've had a knock on your head and a big one. So, it's a blessing that I was able to get so much of grace and learning through that phase. Let's move on to the next photo. This is the Asia Cup, ladies and gentlemen. What was your first reaction? We were all standing there, T20 format. You also said, this is where you least expect it. And then things are flowing. When did you, when did the 100 come into your head? To be very honest, the ball before I got to the 100. It's the time I felt like, oh, I'm on 94, I could probably get this. And the next ball went for six. But the thing is that as soon as I got the 100, I laughed so hard. I was crying for this for two years. Like, just for these two seconds, I let myself go through that. That moment happened, it ended. Next day, the sun was up again. It wasn't going to be forever. It's not like, I made the 100, now I'll pause it. And I'll live this moment for the rest of my life. Like Groundhog Day. It was so funny. It was so funny. I laughed so hard. I was like, that's it. And you laughed for sure, there must have been tears as well. Because you guys… Not at that moment, but when I spoke to Anushka, yes. Later. It was. Because I know, you know, beyond a point, when a person reaches this level, milestones keep happening. Yeah. But the Virat Kohli who carried Sachin Tendulkar on his shoulders on 2nd April and said, we'll carry this forward. If you are to tell that Virat Kohli, maybe when you get to Paji's record or one ahead, he'll keep a lot of mind for that. 49 one-day centuries. He wouldn't have thought this in 2011, right? I'm sure… There's no chance. So if you have to tell him, I know, you'll play it down. When this happens, you'll play it down. It'll be a very emotional moment for me. Because, again, people take for granted what has happened. Whether it's your journey from when you were a kid watching your idol play on TV, to playing with him, to seeing his retirement, to carrying on the responsibilities, to a point where I am today, and what you just mentioned. It is surreal. I mean, again, the focus can be, oh man, so many matches have been played. But I'm looking at exactly what you're saying. I know when I used to be on a scooty, going around, playing games and trying to make a mark. I don't forget those days. I can still feel it. It's like living for me even now. The people on the outside have no idea. I'm not saying that my journey has been so difficult. No, it's dear to me. I'm not saying that I'm a very poor man and don't say anything to me. They don't have an understanding, so they'll say what they have to. But I know who I am. I know where I've come from and I know what path I have to go. And honestly, these things do not matter to me in an achievement sense. They matter to me because the dream you had as a child, you see that unfolding in front of your eyes. And that is a blessing. That is a true blessing because you're able to work towards it. Again, the beauty of being in my profession, playing a sport, is that it didn't happen by chance. The blessing was there on your head. The hand was always there. But the hard work was the only thing that was given to you to do. Nothing else is in our control. We can only do things with the right intent, with the right output. That I did for whatever number of years I've been playing, since I started playing cricket. So that makes me very, very grateful that I was able to live up to that blessing that I was given. And continue to do so till the time I play the sport. Now I'm going to name some iconic locations And Virat's going to tell us about memory. Delhi people will love this. Especially those Delhi people in the 80s and 90s. Gaffar. Oh, Gaffar Market. Now it's Puma. You used to get Poma there. Fake sports shoes. And PlayStation's... Those copy video games. You used to get CDs for 1500 bucks. And... Phone repair shops. There are a lot of them. Correct. Palika. Palika Bazaar again. It was in the underground, right? In the underground, CP. Yeah, the same DVDs. You'll get all the latest movies in Palika the next day. Majnu Katila is the last one. I've never been there. You've never been to Majnu Katila? No, never. K-Nags? Not Kamla Nagar? Oh, K-Nags. Kamla Nagar, of course. How many matches? Kamla Nagar was near Roshanara Club. There... I've played a lot of matches there. I've eaten a lot of food there. North Campus is also near it, right? Exactly. So, I hung out a lot in Kamla Nagar as well. One final question, Virat. The ups and downs we talked about, the leadership, the humility, the teamwork, you learned all of it from sports. Something that you'd probably pass it on to Vamika. You know, what you'll tell her proudly, that I learned this from sports and you can use this in any walk of life. As long as you know that you worked hard and your intent was right. Intent. Everything is intent for me. If your intent was right and you worked hard, you'll be fine in anything that you choose to do in life. Right intent. And you're willing to work hard every day of your life. No compromise. Whether it's rest, recovery, food, training, practice, meeting people, your behaviour. Everything falls under working as much as you can every day of your life. And looking at the camera, you've given a message to all your fans who want to be Virat Kohli. I want you to give a message to those who don't want to play sports professionally. Who don't want to play it. But those who probably just want to play for the joy of it. What would you tell them? Maybe someone who's not as ambitious. But I would just say that start playing any sport that you have any interest in. Because while playing, you'll understand that when you get competitive and things get tough, there comes a moment, even when you're playing for fun, that you have to make a choice whether you want to go ahead or not. And trust me, if you start making those choices, it'll make a difference in your life. I'm not saying that you'll become a professional sportsman or a sportswoman. But that intent to take a leap when things are tough. It'll help you in every profession of yours. Every day of your life. With people, with your work. Anything that you encounter. And that's a guarantee I can give everyone. PK, like always, absolute pleasure.