Virat Kohli and his other love affair

Today it’s the complete package. But the handling of a car is very, very important too.

 The second most important person in India, after the Prime Minister, walks in like he invented the word ‘swagger’. Looking seriously cool in his 1980s-spec quattro jacket, he’s at the Buddh circuit to take delivery of his new Q7. On hand to make the delivery is Audi India boss Rahil Ansari, no less. Keys collected, smiles and thumbs up pumped
for the camera, captain Kohli disappears briefly.

He’s scheduled to come and have a chat with us next, but before he returns, come his minders. I’m quickly surrounded. ‘No questions about cricket,” says one straight up. “How about football?” I ask. “And none about Anushka,” says another from over my shoulder, both looking dead serious. A sense of humour seems to be in short supply here.

Love for cars

India’s captain, however, seems quite chatty and relaxed when we sit down to talk cars. He looks genuinely pleased with his new Q7, and in a good mood. So when I ask about his enthusiasm for cars and when it started, pat comes the reply: “It actually developed over the years.” Cricket is his obsession and passion, but Kohli says his interest in cars grew as he came more in contact with them. “The sound, the way the cars look, they obviously attract you, and then (if you are inclined), it eventually ends up becoming an addiction. That’s how it started for me.” We chat a bit more about his early influences, and pretty soon, it’s evident, this guy really does have a passion and love for cars.

But does he ever polish his cars or clean them like Sachin does? His reply is a bit hesitant, “Well, I’m not that connected to my cars yet. He is on a different level in terms of his cars, but I certainly enjoy driving.”

I’m curious, when and where does he enjoy his cars the most? I expect a bit of a guarded answer, but Virat is wonderfully honest: “Well, I like to go for longish drives. I moved to Gurgaon a while back so I have access to the highway and like going for long drives, especially at night, when it’s a bit quieter. This is better than just driving around the city. I usually go with my brother; we live together, so he is my companion on long drives.”

“What of really long drives – to Rajasthan or Ladakh?” I ask. “I haven’t done that myself. I’ve obviously experienced that with my family. You know, our usual holidays used to be at the hills, so we would have those kinds of road trips. I haven’t done that so far, but I would love to someday.”

Since Virat has wound back the clock, I do too, and ask him about his first car. He seems a bit lost at first (I guess he’s trying to remember the first car he bought with his own money). “Oh, my first car was, jeez, it’s been so long... the (Tata) Safari. I got my first one after the India Under-19 tour. I managed to save some money and buy myself a big car because I wanted all my cricket stuff to fit in. And I’m very fond of music, so I also got this really ‘big’ music system set-up inside the boot, leaving enough space for my kit, of course. I totally wanted to pump it up because I have always loved my music. But no performance enhancements, because those
cars don’t necessarily take well to tuning.”