It was 2004, and India were touring Pakistan for a bilateral Test series for the first time since 1989. The pre-departure press conference took place at Eden Gardens, where this humble hack had asked then India captain Sourav Ganguly about Shoaib Akhtar – the ‘Rawalpindi Express’.
“Rawalpindi Express, well will pull the chain,” said Ganguly. The Page 1 lead was secured. Ganguly’s pressers used to be a reporter’s delight.
Cut to Rahul Dravid’s first press conference after he took over the reins from Ganguly. Once again, this correspondent was present. A question from S Dinakar – God bless his soul – The Hindu’s cricket writer to the new captain was about the team strategy for the game. “We have to bat well, bowl well and field well,” replied Dravid. We exchanged glances, for that was a massive let-down.
MS Dhoni as captain seldom gave banner headlines. Virat Kohli, when he took charge, made the press conferences great again.
EXCLUSIVE
Less than six months after @ashwinravi99 brought the curtain down on his Test career, @imVkohli has followed suit. Ashwin assesses his teammate’s career, and talks of how ‘the Test fuel’ and ‘energy’ will be missed.@BoriaMajumdar✍️#ViratKohlihttps://t.co/wWzyhx7PjM— RevSportz Global (@RevSportzGlobal) May 13, 2025
Sample this: It was October 2019, and India had won a Test, and the series, against South Africa in Ranchi in front of a sparse turnout. The series was played in cricketing backwaters – Vizag, Pune and Ranchi. All three venues were hosting just their second-ever Test matches. So, this correspondent asked the India captain whether it would be a better idea to play Tests in traditional centres only, a la England and Australia, cities that have Test culture.
Kohli was in his element. “We have been discussing this for a long time now, and in my opinion, we should have five Test centres. Period,” he said. “It can’t be sporadic and spread over so many places where people turn up or they don’t. So, in my opinion, absolutely. You should have five strong Test centres that teams coming to India know that this is where they are going to play.”
The 2017 Bangalore Test against Australia witnessed a major controversy, with Steve Smith getting caught looking at the dressing room for DRS assistance, later terming it a “brain fade”. Naturally, reporters asked the India captain about his Australian counterpart at the post-match press conference. Kohli went full throttle.
“The umpires knew exactly what was going on,” he said. “They (Australia) have been doing that for the last three days and it has to stop. I saw that happening two times when I was batting out there. I pointed it out to the umpires, that’s why I was adamant. There are lines you don’t cross on the cricket field. I don’t want to mention the word, but it falls under that bracket.”
RevSportz understands that #ViratKohli wasn’t comfortable with the #BCCI‘s 10-pointer SOPs that put a limit on the duration families can spend with players on overseas tours. Head coach Gautam Gambhir wasn’t in favour of altering it.@shamik100 writes.https://t.co/rKDgtIpb4G
— RevSportz Global (@RevSportzGlobal) May 12, 2025
Asked if it was “cheating”, Kohli said: “I didn’t say that, you did.”
Lord’s 2021, and this wasn’t a press conference. Rather a team talk that was later shared by those who were present in the huddle. India had set England a target of 272 in 60 overs on the final day. Kohli told his teammates: “For 60 overs, they should feel hell out there.” India sealed a memorable win at the fag end of the day.
Move to the 2021 T20 World Cup in the United Arab Emirates, and after India’s 10-wicket loss against Pakistan, Mohammed Shami found himself at the receiving end of vicious social media trolls. His captain showed true leadership. “Attacking someone over their religion is the most pathetic thing one can do as a human,” Kohli told reporters. “That is a very sacred and personal thing. People take out their frustration because they have no understanding of what we do.”
He upped the ante: “We are playing on the field, we are not a bunch of spineless people on social media. This has become a source of entertainment for some people which is very sad. All this drama created on the outside is based on people’s frustrations.”
Kohli’s successor, Rohit Sharma, too, was very good at pressers – forthright and honest. But he lacked Kohli’s eloquence and panache. Kohli made press conferences box office.
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