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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Delhi CM Rekha Gupta accuses Mamata Banerjee of stalling SIR; TMC hits back
Kolkata (PTI): Alleging that her West Bengal counterpart Mamata Banerjee had approached the Supreme Court to stall the SIR exercise to prevent the identification of infiltrators, Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta on Sunday claimed that the people of the state have made up their minds to dislodge the Trinamool Congress from power.
The TMC countered strongly, urging Gupta to "look into her own backyard" and accused her of making absurd allegations against the TMC government without checking facts.
Addressing participants at the 'Nari Sankalp Yatra' organised by the BJP's women's wing at Science City auditorium here, Gupta alleged that the "hands-off" and appeasement policies of the TMC government had allowed thousands of infiltrators to enter the state in recent years.
She claimed that this had put a strain on basic rights such as access to water, electricity, ration, education, livelihood and the right to vote for genuine citizens.
"She wants to perpetuate this and hence is trying to stall the SIR exercise, which aims at identifying and deporting infiltrators. Imagine a chief minister going to the apex court to argue against an exercise meant to ensure free and fair polls," Gupta said.
The BJP leader alleged that appeasement politics had reached an "alarming level" under the TMC regime.
Raising concerns over women's safety, she claimed that women in the state were not secure despite having a woman chief minister.
Referring to the rape-murder of a woman doctor at RG Kar Hospital, Gupta alleged that the state government had failed to respond adequately to such crimes.
She also referred to the alleged rape of a woman medic in Durgapur and another law student on a Kolkata college campus, claiming that criminals had been emboldened to commit brutalities against women.
She alleged that in crimes against women, overall crime incidents and child marriages, West Bengal remained among the top -- "a slur on a state which once led intellectual and social movements and set examples for the rest of the country," she said.
Criticising the state government's welfare initiatives, she said schemes such as Kanyashree were built on "false claims" and asserted that women needed security rather than assurances.
Accusing the state government of blocking central schemes, Gupta alleged that funds worth "lakhs of crores of rupees" had not reached the poor due to non-implementation of programmes such as Ayushman Bharat, PM Awas Yojana and Jal Jeevan Mission by the state.
"You are only interested in renaming projects and taking credit," she said.
Gupta also alleged that the education sector in the state had been adversely affected, saying several state-run schools had closed due to a shortage of teachers and that the government was opposed to the National Education Policy.
Drawing a comparison with BJP-ruled Delhi, Gupta said, "People have already voted out 'Bhaia' (a reference to former Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal). Now it is your turn to bid farewell to 'Didi'." Calling upon women to resist what she termed "strong-arm tactics", she urged them to assert their strength, invoking the imagery of Goddess Durga.
"Bengal has the right to live with dignity, and women have the right to live with dignity," she added.
Reacting to Gupta's allegations, West Bengal Women and Child Welfare minister Shashi Panja accused her of making "absurd allegations" against the Trinamool Congress government ahead of elections.
Panja alleged that during Gupta's tenure in Delhi, several incidents had raised serious concerns, including reports of missing young women and a blast near the Red Fort.
She also criticised the air pollution situation in the national capital, claiming that people were struggling to breathe.
The TMC leader said that despite being in power for a year, Gupta was making "tall claims" instead of addressing key issues in Delhi.
Panja further alleged that the Delhi CM visited West Bengal during elections to "peddle false allegations" against the state government.
Rebutting Gupta, the TMC said in a post on X said, "Madam why did you go off-script again? For your edification, here are the cold, hard facts: In total cases of crimes (IPC + SLL), Bengal ranks a respectable 15th, far safer than BJP-ruled Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Gujarat, which languish near the bottom."
"In overall crime rate, Bengal sits comfortably at 28th. Who's second? Your own Delhi. Double Engine Gujarat and Haryana grab 4th and 5th as top-tier crime havens," the TMC said.
"In child marriage, Assam again takes the shameful pole position. And yet you dare lecture Bengal? Stop embarrassing yourself, stop the hypocrisy, and maybe fix the rotting mess in your own backyard before pointing fingers at a state that's outperforming your disasters on every key metric," the TMC countered.
