Is the Merit System Bringing Kohli Back to Where He Began?

The BCCI selectors have now made it challenging for Virat Kohli to maintain his spot till the 2027 World Cup. According to recent reports, Kohli will only be selected on the Merit system. This makes every match important for the King to play in the next World Cup.

1. Lessons from His Father

His late father, Prem Nath Kohli, played an important role in instilling some values in Kohli when he was a youngster. When Virat Kohli was the captain of the Indian team, he spoke about the incident in a YouTube podcast.

But his father didn't know what the little extra meant, and was asked for Kohli to be in the team. , “My father simply said, 'If you want to select Virat, then let it be purely on merit. I will give you nothing extra.' I didn't get selected. I cried a lot. I was broken.”

Surely he was broken at that time, but as time passed, Kohli learned about the values. He said,“That incident taught me a lot. I realised that this world runs like this. If you want to progress, do something that no one else is doing. If I had to become successful, I needed to be extraordinary. And I had to achieve this purely through my own effort and hard work. My father showed me the right way, through his actions and not merely words. Those little things had a great impact on me.”

After decades of not hearing about the Merit System, it has now returned for Virat Kohli. It surely would be a Deja Vu feeling for the former Indian skipper. As the BCCI selectors announced their squad for the upcoming Australia tour, it was also confirmed that Virat Kohli will be making his comeback.

Virat Kohli in ODI format:

He last played in the ODI format during the Champions Trophy, where he had some crucial knocks. With Virat being retired from the Test and T20I formats, he will have to sustain till the 2027 World Cup in the ODIs too. But it for the Indian batsman this time.

The BCCI selectors have confirmed that Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma will only be selected based on the Merit System. This brings back the same system, whose roots were put into Kohli back in his childhood by his father. Now, Virat Kohli will also be eager to prove his worth to the Indian team by performing well in the upcoming tours.