Interviews of viret Kholi
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In the UK we find it hard to comprehend the level of attention and adulation that Indian cricketers, and you in particular, receive in your home country. How do you cope with it?
When England came to India last, Alastair [Cook] asked me the same. Even players who’ve toured many times, it still amazes them how much passion and attention people have towards cricket in India. I said, ‘You just get used to it’. There is literally no other option. You cannot avoid it. I don’t try and fight it anymore. I’ve tried to do that in the past, where I wanted people to understand to an extent what an individual wants in terms of space and just to be able to have a normal life… for a bit! But that is very, very difficult to expect when you have so many people wanting to see you or meet you or are inspired by you. So I’ve come to terms with the fact that it’s just something you have to accept.
Does it help that your wife Anushka [Sharma, the Bollywood actress and film producer] understands what it’s like to be in the public eye?
That was one of the reasons why we got along so well, to be able to understand each other’s mindset and the demands of being in such a position. And also the fact that we are so similar in terms of the backgrounds we have. People do not understand us at all. They think we live a fairytale life and things are only of royal standards, but in reality we are really normal people. We are in the public eye so it seems too far-fetched for the public to connect with, but we lead a very simple life at home. And that’s how we like to live. We do something that is in the public eye but we never chose to be recognised in this way.
You’re one of the most influential figures in India essentially because, on a most basic level, you’re exceptionally good at hitting a cricket ball. Is that difficult to get your head around?
Ever since I’ve been with my wife we understand the responsibility that we have as known people back home. It’s not only in terms of inspiring people through what I do or she does, but how we portray ourselves as a couple as well, and to set the right example there – to teach people the right things to follow and not worry too much about what people are going to say, because that can be a massive factor back home. We take this as a responsibility of being in the position that we are. Even in cricket now, for me it’s not about what I want to achieve as a cricketer, it’s more to do with how I can inspire the next lot of players. I feel that is more of a responsibility now, and not merely going on the park and hitting a ball.
You play so much cricket, rarely missing matches and captaining India in all three formats. Psychologically, how do you stay on top of things and balance that with other aspects of your life?
I think there’s no limit to what you can do, as long as you’re happy doing it. I don’t believe that if you are busy in life in general that your sport is going to get compromised. A 24-hour day is a long time to be able to do things. Spending time at home is something we really look forward to, then my sport is my priority as well, but apart from that I do a lot of commercials, a lot of businesses as well, which I’m actively involved in. It gives me a sense of working towards something all the time. I don’t feel the burden at all, to be honest. I love having the opportunity to be so busy in life.
How do you relax outside of cricket?
We really enjoy our time when we come to other countries. We get to walk around and that’s very liberating, to be able to enjoy normal stuff like going out for breakfast or to coffee shops, because we don’t walk at all back home – it’s only getting out of our house, into our car and going wherever we want to go, then back into our car to go home. We love pets, so if we see dogs around we play with them. We can literally do whatever we want in terms of buying things or having something but to be able to enjoy and be grateful about life every day is something that we take very seriously.
