'Cricket not as intimidating as the Centre Court': Virat Kohli on Wimbledon experience

Virat Kohli, in attendance at Wimbledon's Men's Round of 16 match between Novak Djokovic and Alex de Minaur on Monday, shared his perspective on the level of pressure between cricket and tennis, surprisingly stating that playing cricket in packed stadiums is less intimidating than competing on Wimbledon's Centre Court.This marked Kohli's first public appearance since the tragic Bengaluru stampede during RCB's IPL title victory celebrations.

In conversation with Vijay Amritraj, Kohli detailed his thoughts on the pressure dynamics in both sports."It's a lot of pressure because there are so many people in the stadium. 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.

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," Kohli told Star Sports’ Vijay Amritraj.

"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.

The experience can be similar but the intimidation 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.

These guys must be facing that from the quarter-final onwards till the final, which I think is a lot of pressure onwards," he added.The cricket icon went viral earlier after being spotted in attendance at Wimbledon with Anushka Sharma, following which fans went berserk on social media.

Following his retirement from T20 internationals after the 2024 World Cup, Kohli also concluded his Test career in May.