Was too self-consumed in England, says Virat Kohli

On an Instagram chat with former England captain Kevin Pietersen on Thursday, Kohli said he was too self-consumed on that England tour where he ended up averaging just 13.50 in 10 innings.

India skipper Virat Kohli revealed the reasons for his failure on the 2014 England tour, which he described as the lowest he has ever felt in his glittering career.

On an Instagram chat with former England captain Kevin Pietersen on Thursday, Kohli said he was too self-consumed on that England tour where he ended up averaging just 13.50 in 10 innings.

"There is a time as a batsman when you know you will fail and you will not get runs. I used to wake up and know I would fail. It was the worst I have ever felt. It was tough. I promised myself that I will never allow it to happen to me again. It happened because I was so consumed about doing well from a personal point of view. I just felt that since I was in England and this was Test cricket, so if I score runs here I will establish myself. I was consumed by all that crap and that led to my downward spiral."

Kohli also opened about his decision to turn vegetarian. "I left eating meat just before the 2018 England Test series. When we went to South Africa in 2018, I got a cervical spine issue. It was hurting like mad. I could not sleep at night. My body was too acidic, creating too much uric acid.

My bones got weaker, so I stopped eating meat in the middle of the England tour. And since then, I've never felt better waking up, never felt better recovering between Test matches. Being vegetarian has completely changed [my life]. You feel lighter.

I honestly felt I should have done it two to three years earlier," added the prolific batsman.

Catch up on all the latest sports news and updates here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates

"Exciting news! Mid-day is now on WhatsApp Channels Subscribe today by clicking the link and stay updated with the latest news!" Click here!