De Villiers shared a memory of a recommendation that he once made to Kohli not to be too emotional in an IPL season, but Kohli decided to stick to his passionate brand. Kohli was working up a display of emotion from the field, which again reminded us of him during the IPL Qualifier 1 against PBKS this season.
With the IPL 2025 final coming up, De Villiers reflected on that very advice. He suggested that Kohli try playing a season and not get too emotional just to lessen the pressure. Kohli felt it was a good idea but did not follow it through.
“I think we have spoken about it quite a lot. I said why not give it a shot and just relax a bit? He agreed it made sense, but it didn’t work out,” explained De Villiers. He believes that Kohli’s passion and emotions make him great. He pointed out that it is through showing that he really cares that Kohli has been able to do so much.
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De Villiers continued, “He doesn’t take my advice, really. It’s just part of who he is. He can’t help but express how he feels, and that’s one of his strengths. He’s achieved so much because of that. I’d love to see him a bit calmer out there, and I did mention it, but I guess I was wrong.”
