Former Team India captain Virat Kohli has vouched to move away from the leadership saga and use all his energies into batting as they lock horns with West Indies in a limited-overs series. The bilateral series will see both teams play three ODIs followed by the same number of T20Is.
The last couple of months has been difficult for the 33-year-old cricketer. He stepped down as captain in the shortest format after ICC T20 World Cup 2021 before he was being stripped of the leadership duties from the one-dayers ahead of the South Africa series. The turmoil and the 1-2 defeat in the Test led to Virat Kohli relinquishing his duties in the Test cricket as well.
Speaking during Digit’s ‘Firseside Chat with VK’, Kohli said:
“Taking the decision to move on is also part of leadership, to understand the right time to do it. To understand that, maybe the environment needs a different direction. Obviously same culture, but a different set of ideas to boost people in a different way and contribute in a different manner.”
He added:
“One has to embrace all kinds of roles and responsibilities. I have played under MS as a player and I have been the captain of the team for a long time, my mindset has been same. I always thought like a captain even when I was a player. I want to make the team win. I have to be my own leader.”
Virat Kohli has gone without scoring a century for over 24 months now. He has come close to reaching the landmark but has not succeeded yet.
“You don’t need to be a captain to be a leader” – Virat Kohli
The talismanic run-scorer has said that he doesn’t need to be captain of the team to be a leader for India, suggesting that he could contribute more as the side’s batting mainstay.
“Everything has a tenure and time period. You obviously have to be aware of that,” Kohli told Digit’s ‘Fireside chat with VK’. Â
“People might say ‘what this guy has done’ but you know when you think of moving forward and achieving more, you feel like you have done your job. Now as a batsman maybe you have more things to contribute to the team. You can make the team win more. So take pride in that. You don’t need to be a captain to be a leader. As simple as that,” Virat Kohli concluded.Â
