The lesson Virat Kohli takes from football

India's cricket captain Virat Kohli says "special things happen to the teams that believe. That’s the only kind of inspiration I take when I see the top clubs of the world." (Image: Reuters)

Virat Kohli enjoys football. He is a good recreational player and closely follows the sport.

Before India left for England for the World Test Championship (WTC) final, Kohli was asked if there was anything he’d draw from the Champions League, which had concluded a few days prior. Chelsea defeated the more fancied Manchester City in the final.

If you win one Champions League, you don’t stop working hard. You want two and three and four. This is exactly our mindset.

- Virat Kohli, Indian cricket captain

Kohli also referenced football when asked if the WTC final would be the team’s final frontier.

“I don’t think this is the final frontier after which we have no idea where to go,” Kohli said. “This is an ongoing process of keeping Indian cricket on top. And we have done our duty over the last five-six years with absolute commitment and now the transition phase is going on, where our responsibility is to instill the same passion and commitment in the next lot of players, so we remain on top for more years to come."

Kohli compared this to the football world. "If you win one Champions League, you don’t stop working hard. You want two and three and four. This is exactly our mindset,” he said.

Earlier, in an interaction with fans on Instagram, Kohli was asked what was the last thing he googled. "Cristiano Ronaldo transfer," Kohli replied, once again showing football was never far from his mind.