Sanjay Manjrekar reveals how Virat Kohli is sensitive towards criticism he gets: ‘That will spur him on to get that…’

Former India cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar has said that veteran batter Virat Kohli is "very sensitive about criticism" and is often aware about what people talk about him.

Sanjay Manjrekar recalled an incident with Virat Kohli and found the latter "cold" during a toss which Manjrekar was in charge of.

"That is very important to him (staying private). But he is somebody who is also very sensitive to criticism. Yeah, yeah, I think he gets to know about what's being said about him, because I've had experience with him as a captain and player.

"And suddenly one day I would find him very cold at the toss or whatever, and I would think, perhaps he heard something that was being said about him," Manjrekar said on Sportstar's Inside Edge podcast.

"So he's one of those first guys who kept saying, 'You know, we don't care about what people say,' but he's also very sensitive. But maybe it's a good thing as well; if he hears that kind of criticism or something negative, that will just spur him on to get that next big hundred," he added.

"The thing to like about him as captain was when things went flat, when he knew he wouldn't be able to get a wicket on the pitch with the bowling resources he had. He would still make sure the team was driven and that there was energy on the field, and he made them believe things would happen. I think that was his great strength," the former Mumbai cricketer said.

"I've always believed that the team wears the look of the captain. Under Virat Kohli, every player had to be like Virat Kohli. If anyone went out there and looked a little flat, they would not be playing the next Test match. So everybody responded to Virat's aggression," explained the 60-year-old.

Under Virat Kohli as captain, India played 213 international matches, and won 135 matches while losing 60 matches. Kohli ended his India captaincy career with a win percentage of 63.38.

Under Virat Kohli, India became the No.1 Test side for five consecutive years and won the 2018-19 Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Australia. That meant India became the first-ever Asian country to win a Test series on Australian soil. Under Kohli, India also reached the final of the 2021 World Test Championship (WTC), where they lost to New Zealand.

Virat Kohli has endured a mixed outing with Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in IPL 2026. The 37-year-old has scored 379 runs from 11 matches at a strike-rate of 163.36. The former RCB skipper has registered three half-centuries so far.

RCB are currently on top of the IPL 2026 standings with 14 points from 11 matches. The defending champions, led by Rajat Patidar, will next lock horns against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in Raipur on Wednesday. RCB are coming into this match on the back of a two-wicket win over Mumbai Indians (MI).