The star batter Virat Kohli has given his first public interview after the RCB stampede in Bengaluru, after being spotted at Wimbledon 2025.
During his interview, he went on to compare the pressure of Wimbledon with the India-Pakistan World Cup Games.
Formeer India captain Virat Kohli believes that playing cricket in front of packed stadiums isn’t as ‘intimidating’ and pressuring as featuring on the Centre Court at Wimbledon.
Virat Kohli said the only time the two sports can be comparable in those factors would be big matches, like India against Pakistan at World Cup.
He was present during the Men’s round of 16 match between Novak Djokovic and Australia’s Alex de minaur on Monday.
“It’s a lot of pressure because there are so many people in the stadium,” told Virat Kohli.
“But I’d say that it’s not as intimidating as the Centre Court because of the distance people are sitting from you. When we are batting on the pitch, the fans are too far away, so you can get lost in your space and do your own thing,” he added.
10-years since his last #Wimbledon outing, #ViratKohli shares his thoughts on coming back to enjoy the action on Centre Court! 🎾#Wimbledon2025 👉 Watch all the action LIVE on Star Sports Network & JioHotstar pic.twitter.com/dEUFVamMlH
— Star Sports (@StarSportsIndia) July 8, 2025
You don’t hear comments, the cheers or the boos straight in your ears, it’s only when you are fielding on the boundary but you don’t have the pressure of succeeding or failing with your individual skill,” he said.
“But here, everything’s on the line and can change with a point in tennis. The pressure these guys must be feeling… playing on the Centre Court must be tremendous. I have lot of respect for tennis players for that reason — maintaining composure, fitness, and mental strength, it’s truly remarkable,” he further said.
“The experience can be similar but the intimidation factor and the factor, I would say, could only be replicated for us in very peak kind of World Cup games, like an India-Pakistan World Cup game or the semi-final or a final where your legs are shivering because of sheer pressure,” said Virat Kohli.
“These guys must be facing that from the quarter-final onwards till the final, which I think is a lot of pressure onwards,” he said.
Virat Kohli has been known for stepping up in big matches notably against Pakistan. In ODI World Cups, he has 209 runs against them at 52.25 runs at 112 in the Champions Trophy and 312 at a strike rate of 132.76.
He retired after the 2024 T20 World Cup with a Player of the Match performance in the final and called off his Test retirement in May 2025. However, he will continue to play in ODIs but India do not have any game till October.
