Don't get nervous, I'm not making any announcements: Kohli rubbishes retirement rumours
Bengaluru, Mar 15 (PTI): Champion batter Virat Kohli on Saturday emphatically said he is not mulling retirement at the moment as he has been enjoying the game, and the "competitive streak" inside him is very much intact.
Kohli displayed the old spark while playing an important hand in India's recent Champions Trophy victory in Dubai, after which skipper Rohit Sharma too dismissed the retirement talks surrounding him.
"Don't get nervous. I'm not making any announcements. As of now everything is fine. I still love playing the game," Kohli said during a talk session at the RCB Innovation Lab.
Kohli said he no longer aspires to achieve milestones, but he is playing cricket for the "pure joy" of it.
"It's pretty much come down to just the pure joy, enjoyment, competitive streak, and love for the game. And as long as that is there I will continue to play. As I said today I am not playing for any achievement," he said.
Kohli said that innate "competitive streak" makes it tougher for a sportsperson to find the right time to move away from the game.
"You know the competitive streak doesn't allow you to find the answer (for the retirement question). I had a very interesting conversation about this with Rahul Dravid. He said you always have to stay in touch with yourself.
"Figure out where you are placed in your life and the answer is not that easy. You might be going through a lean phase and you feel like this is it. But it might not be. But then when it is time my competitive streak would not allow me to accept it. Maybe one more month.
"Maybe six more months. So I think it's a fine balance. At this point of time in my life I feel pretty happy," he explained.
But Kohli admitted that the advancing age has made the whole process of staying at the top of his game a bit more tough.
"I want to be able to have all my energy in place. Now, it takes much more effort as people who have played the game for a long period of time understand. You can't do so many things in your mid to late 30s that you can in your mid 20s. I'm at a bit of a different place in my life as well.
"I think for me it's a natural progression. I'm sure all these young guys will hopefully get to that place. But now, the energy that's coming out of me feels very peaceful and calm," he said.
The 36-year-old said he has adjusted mentally to the batting failures, which have become an increasingly regular part of his game in the last few years.
Kohli cited his ordinary run against Australia in an away series as a case in point, as he went downhill after making a hundred in the first Test at Perth.
"If you ask me the intensity of how disappointed I've been... for me the most recent Australia tour would be the one that's most fresh. So, it might feel the most intense to me. But I can't look at it that way. I might not have an Australia tour again in me in four years' time.
"I don't have the chance to correct it. So you have to make peace with whatever's happened in your life. Like in 2014 (against England) I still had the chance to go in 2018 and do what I did. It might not have been the case."
Kohli said the key to keep away from pressure will be to shut himself out of the outside noises.
"Once you start thinking of the disappointment from the outside, then you start burdening yourself way more. That's something that I've surely experienced in Australia as well. Because I got a good score in the first Test. I thought, right, let's go.
"There's going to be another big series for me. It didn't turn out that way. How do you cope up with this? For me, it's just about acceptance. This is what happened. I'm going to be honest with myself," he noted.
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Crime scene recreated in rape-murder case of IRS officer's daughter; potency test conducted
New Delhi (PTI): Crime scene recreation was carried out by investigators on Saturday at the southeast Delhi residence where the 22-year-old daughter of a senior IRS officer was allegedly raped and murdered on April 22, police sources said.
The investigators are working to piece together the exact sequence of events and have conducted a detailed mapping of the crime scene.
They are also collecting "minute-to-minute" information regarding the accused, starting from Alwar, where he allegedly committed a rape, to the Delhi crime, the police sources said.
An iPhone stolen from the victim in Delhi has been recovered from a park, while a potency test of the accused has been conducted as part of the rape investigation, they said.
"Crime and forensic teams recreated the sequence of events inside the house for over two hours to establish how the crime unfolded. Every single minute detail has been recreated," the source said.
Access to the house was cordoned off, with a heavy police presence in and around the premises during the exercise.
The 22-year-old woman, an engineering graduate and UPSC aspirant, was fatally attacked at her residence in southeast Delhi's Kailash Hills locality on Wednesday morning.
Rahul Meena, who had been a domestic help at the residence but was fired over financial misconduct, used his familiarity with the house layout and access points to enter the flat.
Citing the investigation, sources said Meena was addicted to online betting and card games such as "teen patti" and had lost over Rs 7 lakh in the last few months, which drove him to frequently borrow money to sustain the habit.
He had been spending his money on prostitution and used to watch porn videos on his mobile phone, besides gambling, they said.
He allegedly went to the rooftop study room where the woman was studying, attacked her with a heavy object, raped her and dragged her downstairs to use her fingers to open a biometric locker and steal cash.
The autopsy confirmed strangulation as the cause of death and found multiple injuries, including a nasal bone fracture, indicating a struggle.
"He fled after changing clothes and slippers, and reached Palam Railway Station to catch a train to Rewari in Haryana. When he failed to catch the train, he booked a hotel in Dwarka, from where he was arrested. More than Rs 1 lakh in cash and stolen jewellery were recovered from his possession," a police officer said.
As part of the probe, the police took the accused to Palam railway station, where he had first gone after the crime, and will also take him to the Dwarka hotel where he stayed briefly before being arrested, sources said.
Investigations have also revealed that Meena was known for aggressive behaviour in his native village in Rajasthan and
"During the inquiry, we came to know that Meena and his father were known in their village for their aggressive behaviour. Our team is there. They are told that his father is an alcoholic and Meena is addicted to online games," a police source said.
Sources said a detailed psychological assessment of the accused will be carried out to evaluate his mental state and behavioural patterns, noting that he has exhibited psychopathic tendencies and a history of violent conduct.
He returned to his native village after being sacked and told his parents that he had left the job, the police source said.
"He never told his parents that he was sacked," the source said.
A senior police officer who interrogated Meena told PTI that he is remorseless and told investigators that the murder "just happened" in a fit of rage.
He told the police, "Agar didi paise de deti to aisa nahi hota" (if didi (the victim) had given the money, this would not have happened), the officer said.
"Chori karne ka afsos nahi par marna nahi chaiye tha, ho gaya (I don't regret committing the theft, but I shouldn't have killed her. It just happened)," Meena told interrogators, according to the officer.
The sources said the accused displayed a strangely calm demeanour after his arrest. "During questioning, he was quite casual. He acted as if everything was normal. Usually, when a person commits a heinous murder, they would display some anxiety, anger, restlessness or remorse. Meena was very casual," said a source.
He said the accused did not react much and only repeated that he wanted money to clear his debts. "We asked him if he regrets what he has done. Meena replied that the family was like god to him, but he wanted money," the source said.
The psychological analysis of the accused will involve clinical evaluation by experts to assess aggression levels, emotional responses and personality traits, including indicators linked to disorders such as anti-social personality disorder, sources said.
Investigators are probing whether the crime was premeditated, with officials saying Meena's psychological profiling will help understand his mental state and reconstruct events.
Meanwhile, family members of the accused are now being questioned as part of the investigation to gather further information about his background and movements prior to the crime.
The police said the accused's custody will end on Monday, and he will be produced again before the court.
"We will request the court to extend his police remand by four days as we need to collect minute-to-minute details of the accused, starting from Alwar crime to Delhi crime," a police source said.
The accused had raped a friend's wife in Rajgarh before heading to Delhi, according to investigators.
