'He looks straight at you' - Brett Lee saw it in Virat Kohli's eyes before the records came

Former Australian pacer Brett Lee identified something exceptional in Virat Kohli during their playing days, recognising the Indian batter's mental intensity and competitive edge long before he became one of the biggest names in world cricket.

Speaking on the BeerBiceps YouTube channel, Lee explained that he could see Kohli's special qualities through his demeanour and approach to the game. When asked whether he thought Kohli would become the player he eventually did, Lee answered affirmatively, pointing to something visible in the batter's character.

"You can see it in his eyes. There are sportspeople that, they’ve got it and they might not have it at the start, but they’ve got that mental attitude, whether they can just focus more than other people," Lee said.

"And you’ve seen his eyes. He looks straight at you and just — not looks through you — but like, ‘It’s game on and you aren’t gonna get me out.’ I saw that when I played against him. You see it now. He’s had an incredible career," Lee added.

Virat Kohli's place in Indian cricket's lineage

Lee placed Kohli within a lineage of Indian cricket's greatest batters, each carrying the weight of national expectations. He reflected on how Sunil Gavaskar established the template for Indian batting excellence, then Sachin Tendulkar inherited that responsibility and the pressure of representing the nation's cricket aspirations.

"The other thing too, like the other reason why you can’t compare eras is because think of what Sunny Bhai did. You know, Sunny Gavaskar, he was massive, right?" Lee stated.

"And then Sachin Tendulkar then became the guy that would try to take that mantelpiece off — well, that trophy away from him. Then Sachin got the glory of the 1.5 billion people back then that were all supporting him, and he had to carry the weight of them on his shoulders. Then you throw in Kohli that came to take over from Sachin," Lee noted.

The added pressure of social media

Lee acknowledged that Kohli faced pressures his predecessors did not encounter, particularly from the rise of social media and constant public scrutiny. He contrasted the media landscape of his own playing era with the modern environment Kohli navigated throughout his career.

"Kohli’s had to deal with all the social media too. So they had the press back in our day, but there was no social media, thank God," Lee elaborated.

Lee defended Kohli's record against criticism that emerged whenever the batter had a quiet game or series. He stressed that judging a player's quality based on a single poor performance was unfair and overlooked the broader body of work.

"And as I said, everyone’s got a camera. Everyone’s a journalist. People can think what they want. If he hasn’t scored one run in a game that he’s past his best, it’s all rubbish. Like, how about his record? His record is impeccable. It’s incredible," he concluded.