‘Every champion…’: Virat Kohli’s post ahead of ODI comeback goes viral; social media reacts, ‘This is a declaration’

Virat Kohli’s take on failure ahead of ODI comeback has gone viral. On October 16 at 10 AM, the batting maestro posted a message on Twitter (now X): “The only time you truly fail, is when you decide to give up.”

In under 3 hours, the post has received more than 3 million views. After a couple of hours, Kohli shared a video as a reply to the previous post. In the video, the “King” speaks at length about failure.

“You will fail, not once, not twice, but over and over again. Failure is the lesson, the training ground. It is the fire that forges greatness. Every champion you admire has fallen more times than you can count. The difference? They’ve gone back every single time,” Virat Kohli says in the video.

“Failure doesn’t define you, but your response to it does. Will you stay down, or will you rise? Will your disappointment break you, or will it make you more resilient?” he asks.

“So, the next time you fall, you fail, don’t waste a second feeling sorry for yourself. Stand up, shake off the dust, and remind yourself who you aspire to be. Someone who refuses to be defeated. Because the only time you truly fail is when you decide to give up,” King Kohli concludes.

The motivational video is part of WROGN’s promotion. Virat Kohli is the brand ambassador of the company, founded in 2014 by Anjana and Vikram Reddy.

For Indian cricket fans, the video turned out to be much more than a promotional post. Virat Kohli’s future in ODI cricket remains unclear as there have been major speculations about him playing the 2027 ODI Cricket World Cup.

According to many fans, senior cricketers have been continually sidelined in the Indian team due to Gautam Gambhir’s stress on young blood. Rohit Sharma earlier lost ODI captaincy to 26-year-old Shubman Gill.

Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli have already retired from Test cricket and T20 cricket. The only time fans get to see them play is when India play One-Day cricket, the least played format these days.

Social media reacts

“Until death, all defeat is psychological, go get that 2027 WC,” posted a fan.

“Is this message for those who were thinking that Kohli should retire?” asked another fan.

Another commented, “Every athlete says this, but coming from you, it feels earned. You’ve lived through failures that broke others, stood up when the world wanted silence. Giving up is easy; rebuilding isn’t. That’s why this line hits harder. It’s not a quote, it’s a mindset you’ve lived for years.”

“We want to see you on Gill’s shoulders after winning the 2027 World Cup,” wrote another.

Another fan suggests, “Wow, that confirms the King will play in 2027. He ain’t going to give up to any politics, outside noise. Have all the belief like anytime someone doubts, he will prove them wrong with his bat.”

“This tweet is a declaration, not motivation,” wrote another.

“You are synonymous with not giving up… You came back strong in English conditions, you will come back stronger in Australia,” came from another.

Many fans are, however, still asking Virat Kohli why he had retired from Test cricket.

“Virat, deep down, you know you still have that hunger. pls come back. The red balls miss you,” pleaded one fan.

“Why did you give up whites, paaji?? We all know you still have it in you,” wrote another.