“It is an amazing feeling to not be recognised at all”: Virat Kohli opens up on the break before IPL 2024

Virat Kohli took a two-month long break from cricket to rejuvenate and focus on family time before getting back into the grind with the Indian Premier League (IPL). The 35-year-old player missed India’s home series against England to be with his family, for the birth of his second child.

“We were not in the country. We were at a place where people were not recognising us. Just time together as a family, just to feel normal for two months. For me and for us as a family, it was a surreal experience,” Kohli said, after receiving the man-of-the-match award for his knock of 77 against Punjab Kings.

The Delhi-born batter said living the life ‘of just another person’ was beautiful. “It was beautiful. It’s an amazing experience to just be another person on the road and not be recognised and just carry on about life that normally people would on a daily basis,” he added.

The former RCB skipper said having two children opens up a different perspective. “Of course, having two kids, things become totally different from a family perspective. So just the ability to be together, the connections that you make with your older child, it’s amazing. I mean, I couldn’t have been more grateful to God for the opportunity that I got to spend time with my family,” he added.

Kohli said getting used to being in the thick of things feels different, especially after a long family time. “Just the place that we were in, I was telling the guys that when we came back, the voices back home felt that much louder. I couldn’t look up because I was just not used to being called my name for two months. And then immediately you hear these loud noises and then you’re back in it all again,” he concluded.