‘He always stands by you’: Young India spinner explains what Virat Kohli’s captaincy felt like as a youngster

Mayank Bande

‘He always stands by you’: Young India spinner explains what Virat Kohli’s captaincy felt like as a youngster image

(getty)

Virat Kohli led India from 2015 to 2021 and was instrumental in India's dominance across formats, leading the team from the front with the bat and as a captain on the field.

During his time as the captain, many young players made their debuts, including Rahul Chahar, who broke into the team in 2019 after impressive two seasons with the Mumbai Indians.

Playing for the Men in Blue under Kohli at just 20, Chahar has opened up about his experience and discussions with the former India captain and how he felt supported on the field due to his presence.

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Here's what he had to say.

Rahul Chahar reveals about Virat Kohli's support for the youngsters

Having played 6 T20Is and a solitary ODI for India from 2019 to 2021, Chahar picked 7 and 3 wickets in the formats, respectively.

The leggie was also a part of the T20 World Cup 2021, which happened to be Kohli's final assignment as the Indian captain in white-ball cricket.

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In one of his recent interviews, the Sunrisers Hyderabad player spoke about how Kohli would stand by him, as a youngster, in case any opposition player tried to intimidate him on the field.

He went on to term Kohli as a very supportive captain, who would have a player's back irrespective of whether falters on the field.

"When I played under Virat Kohli bhai's captaincy, even if something went wrong, I knew this guy would stand by me. As I was a youngster and some senior player from the opposition team tried to say something to me, I knew Virat bhai would come & immediately stand by my side. He is always with you, he always supports you," said Chahar.

After playing his last match during the aforementioned T20 World Cup, at 27, the leg spinner continues to represent Rajasthan in domestic cricket, while he only played a single match in the recently concluded IPL season.

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Kohli, on the other hand, just lifted his first IPL trophy in the 18th attempt with the Royal Challengers Bengaluru and continues to play ODIs and IPL.

Mayank Bande

Mayank Bande has been a content producer at The Sporting News since 2023 and has extensive experience in cricket writing. His work has previously appeared on platforms like OneCricket and Last Word on Sports. Beyond cricket, Mayank closely follows football as an FC Barcelona supporter, along with tennis and Olympic sports. Despite holding a degree in Business Administration, he chose to pursue a career in sports, bringing sharp analysis to his writing as someone who once played cricket.