Thank You Virat Kohli For Saying That Marriage Improved Your Captaincy

Cricketer and Team India captain Virat Kohli has won hearts on the Internet by saying that marriage to actor Anushka Sharma improved his captaincy. Few men speak so fondly of how marriage has positively impacted their life. Most would rather sulk or let out a sigh laden with regret at the mention of their matrimonial alliance. Also, not many people credit their success to their partners, irrespective of gender. However, in case of Kohli, this statement is actually more significant, considering how Sharma was once trolled for his bad form.

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

• Virat Kohli says that marriage to Anushka Sharma has improved his captaincy.
• Just a few years ago, Sharma was relentlessly trolled for Kohli's bad form.
• Looking from that context, it is such a heartening move from Kohli to credit his evolved captaincy skills.
• Very few men speak so openly about how marriage has impacted them in a positive way.

Few men speak so fondly of how marriage has positively impacted their life. Most would rather sulk or let out a sigh laden with regret at the mention of their matrimonial alliance.

Speaking at the captains' media day in London, where he is now to lead team India for the ICC World Cup 2019, he said, “I have become a lot more responsible. That helps you in captaincy as well. It's only improved my captaincy and me as a human being and as a player.” The cricketer was also in news for shifting his base from Delhi to Mumbai, to be with his wife. Some three years ago, when social media trolls targeted his then girlfriend for his bad form, he minced no words. “Shame on those people who have been having a go at Anushka for the longest time and connecting every negative thing to her. Shame on those people calling themselves educated. Shame on blaming and making fun of her when she has no control over what I do with my sport. If anything she has only motivated and given me more positivity,” he had written.

When you see it from the context of the criticism that Sharma faced, it becomes clear why Kohli’s new statement is so significant. He hasn’t forgotten what Sharma had to go through, to no fault of her own. So deep-rooted is sexism in our society, that people found a way to blame a woman even for her partner’s bad form. Seeing women as bringers of luck, good and bad, is also a kind of objectification. We are not lucky charms. It is so wrong to dehumanise us by putting the onus of someone’s success or failure just because we exist in their vicinity.

We want to be better people for those whom we love. Isn’t that what makes a relationship beautiful?

Though women, like men, can influence their partners in a good or bad way. This has nothing to do with gender, but about the kind of person you are and the equation you share with the one you love. A relationship can give you stress and agitate you. Similarly, it can have a positive influence on you. Especially, a marriage can create a sense of responsibility in you in a good way. It can have a calming influence on you, as you feel settled and rooted. There is someone to go back to after a long day at work. There is someone who cares about how you talk to your colleagues and how you manage your anger issues. The mere presence of loved ones around us impacts our personality subconsciously. We want to be better people for those whom we love. Isn’t that what makes a relationship beautiful?

Cricket players are practically revered in this country. This is why Kohli’s endorsement of his marriage can push people to assess their own marriages. It is easy to find faults and play the blame. But if you truly love your partner you would not shy away from accepting, even if it is to yourself, that they make you a better person.

Picture Credit: DNA India

Also Read: Hey Salman Khan, Marriage And Motherhood Aren’t Alternative Careers

Yamini Pustake Bhalerao is a writer with the SheThePeople team, in the Opinions section.  The views expressed are the author’s own.