Speaking on an RCB podcast, Virat Kohli recalled the guidance he received from Mark Boucher, which helped him to gain full knowledge about his potential and the work he needed to put in to make a smooth transition to international cricket.
The former RCB captain said he had never seen an overseas player take as much time to help youngsters in the IPL as Boucher did during those early days.
Speaking on the podcast ahead of the IPL 2025 game against LSG, Virat Kohli said that he was stunned of Mark Boucher’s extend on reading him well. “Actually, out of all the players I played with initially, Mark Boucher had the biggest impact on me. As a young kid, he was the only guy I saw who came with the mindset, ‘OK, I’m going to help some of the young players, some of the young Indian players.'”
“He saw me play, noticed a bit of potential, and figured out what my weaknesses could be. If I wanted to go to the next level, this is what I needed to do – without me even asking him anything,” Virat Kohli said.
Virat Kohli was bought by Royal Challengers Bengaluru after leading India to victory in the U19 World Cup in 2008. However, he did not shine straight away. In the inaugural edition of the IPL, he scored only 165 runs in 16 games.
His first breakout season came in 2010 where he amassed 307 runs in 16 games. From there, the superstar batter never looked back, embarking on a journey to become the most profilic run-scorer in the league.
“𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵’𝘴 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘱 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘶𝘵𝘶𝘢𝘭 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐’𝘮 𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘯𝘰𝘸! 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘮𝘺 𝘏𝘖𝘔𝘌. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦… pic.twitter.com/n0DErxgonp
— Royal Challengers Bengaluru (@RCBTweets) May 6, 2025
Virat Kohli recalled how Boucher’s guidance and encouragement pushed him to work on his limitations and even made him question whether he was cut out for the big stage.
“So he took me to the nets and said, ‘You need to work on the short ball. No one’s going to give you a chance in international cricket if you can’t pull the ball.’ I said, ‘OK,’ he added.
“And then he was hitting these tennis balls at me at a pace where I thought, ‘If this is what it’s going to take, I don’t think I’ll be able to make it to the next level.’ But he really kept at it, kept at it, and I started getting better,” Kohli said.
“I remember there was a game we were playing in Chennai or Kolkata – one of those venues – where he told me, ‘When I come to commentate in India three or four years from now, if I don’t see you playing for India, you’d be doing a disservice to yourself.'”
“So he really stunned me with the conversations he had with me. That kind of pushed me in the direction where I said, ‘I need to start looking at how I can keep getting better.’ He had a massive impact on me in those early years,” he added.
Virat Kohli and Mark Boucher has played 28 matches together for Royal Challengers Bengaluru between 2008 and 2011. After the departure of Boucher, Virat Kohl took over the captaincy role and started his journey towards superstardom.
