Virat Kohli chose Sumit Ghosh, sports editor of Ebela (an ABP Group publication), to send out a message to all Virushka fans and foes with a straight-from-the-heart chat at Eden Gardens on Friday. t2 recognises this as a rare instance of an Indian man — that too a celebrity — standing up for his lady and his love, and reproduces excerpts of the chat that appeared in Ebela on Saturday.

She only has a positive effect on me

A lot of times people misread you, misjudge you. That’s their opinion. At times, they don’t respect your life. For example, after the semi-final in the World Cup, the way people reacted about Anushka... honestly, it was sad to know that people in our country can actually think in that fashion — burning pictures and blaming her for our loss, for my failure. 
No one came out and said she is the reason why I got four centuries in the Test series. She was there in every Test in that series, watching me and cheering me on. And not many people know she is the major reason why I was able to play in that Test series the way I did. Because on the field I was feeling very happy, I was feeling very stable. I was not thinking about anything else. I was not stressed. I was spending quality time with her. That kept me in my zone every time I stepped on to the field. It helped me stay calm as I was not taking unnecessary pressure.
It was shocking to know that people can target someone’s personal life like this. She had no relevance to the defeat. She only has a positive effect on me. But people found her guilty. Strange! They played the blame game very easily. They didn’t realise that she too has a family. People in her family were watching the things that were being said. If the same thing had been said about their wives or their girlfriends or their partners, how would they feel? How could you blame her for my failure?

I share a very purerelationship with her

Instances like this make you feel that when you keep becoming more successful in cricket and in life, you have to keep filtering people around yourself. You can sort of keep people that matter to you in a bunch and just carry on. Incidents like this make you more mature as a person, make you mentally stronger as a person. 
My relationship with Anushka has only become stronger because of that incident. We have gone through this together. We have stuck to each other through this. And, you know what... people don’t realise the importance of someone’s relationship. They don’t know how special the relationship might be to me. I am a human being at the end of the day. I am not a dummy for people to target. She is not a dummy for people to target. If someone is saying bad things about my partner, obviously I will get annoyed, I will get angry because that’s a very personal thing to me. It’s a very pure relationship I share with her. I also understand that there are some things that you need to neglect. But you cannot sit quietly when such things are being said about your girlfriend or partner. 
People talk about my behaviour. I do accept that sometimes I have crossed the line. Everyone needs to know where the line is and if you cross the line, there will be reactions. That’s exactly what has happened with me. But what about those people who were behaving like this after our defeat? Why are people silent over that ugly reaction about Anushka?

I backed myself and she came to Australia

Anushka has been absolutely supportive throughout. Even after the incident that happened in England when her presence was blown up. She was very, very hurt. She was taken aback.
But I always knew I was not doing anything wrong.  I am in a relationship. I am 26 years old. I need to figure out where my life is going. If someone is special to me, I am going to protect her. If needed I will go out of the way to make it work because I know that will make me a happy person. You know, cricket is six hours. You have 18 more hours during the day. That’s your normal life. People don’t understand that we too have a life outside the cricket field. 

I never for even once thought that I was doing anything wrong. I backed myself. So, for the Australia tour when wives and partners were given permission to stay with the cricketers, I spoke to Ravi bhai (Shastri), I spoke to the BCCI secretary. I asked for permission from them. I told them Sir, this is what I need, this is what I want. So if that permission is being given, I can peacefully be committed to do what I need to do and not worry... because it’s very difficult for both people, me and her, not to have a clear picture. 

I backed myself and she came to Australia. I knew I was doing the right thing and I think those four Test matches were very special moments in my career. I knew what I went through in England, what she went through in England. I wanted to call her to Australia in another major series and I wanted to back myself to perform there.

When she was there clapping for me when I got a hundred, I felt very happy and relieved. It was there for people to see what Anushka’s presence can do to me.... I thought with me performing and she clapping in Australia, we had made a joint statement. I couldn’t imagine people would start blaming her for my failure in the World Cup semis, blame her for the team’s defeat. 

She is a part of my daily life... she is very special

I believe in my relationship. I trust my relationship. I trust her. I trust in my relationship with her. That’s why I spoke to the Board and persons concerned about my relationship and tried to make them realise why I need her to be with me during such an important tour. I conveyed my feelings about her to the people who needed to be informed. And they respected my decision. They respected the fact that I respect my relationship. At a human level, people understand when you try to be honest about a relationship.

She is a part of my daily life. And that’s a fact. That is a major part of my life. People need to understand that. I am the last person who would compromise on my cricket for anything else. I will give my life for Indian cricket. I will give my last percentage of energy and my body to win a game for India. And that is the reason why I play with so much passion. Everyone in the team or management or in the Board knows that. I don’t have to explain this to anyone. At the end of the day what matters is what my teammates think about me, what the team management thinks about me, what the BCCI thinks about me and I know all three trust me and I trust them completely. 

It’s very important for an individual to express himself about his relationship. It’s important for the people to know and understand what we feel about our lives and how we also get hurt by things and we also get disappointed by things. It’s about developing a relationship. You get to know her, she gets to know you and then we become special to each other. So, if something is so special and pure to me, I will go out of my way to back it and protect her. I have absolutely no hesitation about it. 

She is one person who keeps me calm

Anushka acts as a big motivation for me. She is one person in my life who keeps me very calm. There are very few people in my life that I can sit down and listen to. She is one of them. I listen to her calmly about everything she says. She makes me understand if I make a mistake, if I am doing something wrong. She gives me that calm feeling. She gives me that assurance. And I know she will always support me, no matter what. That’s a big thing for me. So when I see her cheering for me at the ground, it obviously makes me feel special. It gives me more strength, makes me feel calmer... it’s like an emotional support. Once you get that you don’t need to think about anything else. Because once you are feeling the emotional support, you are feeling so confident that you can go out there and conquer. You know there is someone sitting out there to support you always.
And Anushka is a very special part of my life. I love the fact that she comes and supports me when I play.
Let me also tell you, she doesn’t cheer me up only. She is very friendly with all the members in the team. They are all friendly with her. She likes being around the team. We chill out in Kaka’s room (team masseur Ramesh Mane). She is very close to everyone in the team. 

I am feeling happy and stable

I am 26. I will be 27 soon. There comes a time in your life when you actually start feeling very stable. And everything that is happening in my life now, all that makes me a very happy and stable person. I am into a serious relationship, I am getting the leadership job of the Indian Test team, I am getting to lead RCB. Life gives you signals whether you are heading into right direction. It’s all a journey. And the signals I am getting is that I am on the right path. That’s why I am feeling happy. 

Right now, I am in a phase of life where I actually feel like getting very stable in life. When I am not playing cricket, I am spending time with Anushka and I feel very calm and stable. I enjoy the smallest of things like walking around or just sitting for a cup of coffee. There is no urgency to do something exciting or doing something very flamboyant to show people that I am young and I can do this or do that. 

I salute Virat after reading thisbecause... Tell t2@abp.in