Notably, Mishra launched a scathing attack on the former India captain saying that he never gave him clarity on his future in the team. However, Uthappa has jumped to the defence of Kohli hailing him for his evolution from a young Delhi boy to a legend of the game. Kohli made his debut during an ODI against Sri Lanka in 2008 and turned himself from a reckless youngster to a great of the game. "I have actually seen Virat kind of evolve from a brash young Delhi boy to an evolved human being. You know the evolution has been quite tremendous, to be honest. Today he's practically reaping what he had sown 15 years ago," Uthappa said on cricket.com/tv. Further speaking ahead, the 2007 T20 World Cup winner extolled Kohli for his conviction in his game and mentioned how he turned the belief in his abilities into staggering career numbers. "One of the things that has always stood out to me about Cheeku has been his conviction in himself. When I listen to a young 19-year-old Virat Kohli, you know talking about himself or his conviction in himself, you'll get mortified, you'll be like 'What is this dude talking about?'. "But fast forward 10 years and you be like 'Okay now that makes sense,'" he added. Kohli retires from T20Is Meanwhile, after India's T20 World Cup 2024 triumph in the West Indies. The 35-year-old didn't have a memorable beginning to the tournament, having scored just 75 runs from the first seven innings. However, he made amends in the final by scoring a match-winning 76 (59), which also helped him win the Player of the Match in the big game. As a result, Kohli retired as the second-highest run-scorer in T20Is with 4,188 runs to his name and the highest run score in the T20 World Cup with 1292 runs to his name.