Indian skipper Virat Kohli has proclaimed that his Indian side is one team that every other country is wary of when they travel abroad in world cricket at the moment. He also added that ever since MS Dhoni left cricket, the game has evolved with time, but the Indian team has coped well with it.
India have been doing pretty well in Test cricket for some years now. While they have been unbeatable at home from a long time, they have also registered Test series wins in Sri Lanka, West Indies, and Australia under the captaincy of Virat Kohli. No visiting team has been as dominant in Australia as the Indian side for a while now, and even in the absence of several stars, they were able to register a Test series win Down Under against all the odds, earlier this year. They had also won the Test series in 2018/19, which was the first by any Asian team in Australia.
Reflecting on his team, Indian skipper Virat Kohli claimed that they are probably a side that everyone fears when they travel them. He also stated that the game has moved ahead quickly from the time of MS Dhoni’s departure.
“After MS Dhoni left, cricket evolved – the pace of the game started moving notches higher and we moved with the times. The results over the last five or six years are there for everyone to see. We are probably the one team in world cricket everyone is wary of when we travel,” Kohli was quoted as saying by Sky Cricket.
Virat Kohli is often credited for bringing more intensity, and world-class fitness culture to the senior side. Talking about the team’s culture, the 32-year-old asserted that he has achieved what he wanted to and is pleased to see players relentlessly work hard in pursuit of excellence.
“I have achieved what I wanted to as a leader, which is to create a culture where people strive for excellence every day. Every practice session, no one is wasting their time and that for me is so, so important. I would rather have an hour of quality practice rather than lurking around for two hours fooling around for an hour in between. I don’t see anyone doing that anymore. It is absolutely precise, absolutely professional. You know that if you want to play for India you have to be fit.”
The right-hander also revealed that he wants the transition in the Indian team to be smooth and doesn’t want the youngsters to take a lot of time to taste success at the top level and that’s something that he has tried to help the team with as a captain.
“I don’t want our players to waste the months and years I wasted trying to figure things out. I found the formula for success and I want these guys to pick it up early so that transition with Indian cricket can be very smooth. It should not take youngsters two or three years after the seniors have gone to build a team again. It does not matter if a guy running into the bowl has 140 Test matches and you have four, if you have more belief in yourself than him on the day you can outplay him. That is what I have tried to inculcate.”
One of the leading batters in world cricket, he also added that more than experience, it’s the belief that matters and one should face their fears with utmost conviction.
“Don’t let these norms of playing 30 or 40 Test matches fool you – as even after 80 or 90 Tests, if you are not in a good frame of mind, experience counts for nothing and you are still going to nick the first ball to slip. Even in the toughest moments, the mindset is simple. Go out there and have fun. Enjoy the moment. Face the fear, look it in the eye, and say ‘I am going to keep coming at you’.”
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