I always thought like a captain even when I was just a player: Virat Kohli

Star batter Virat Kohli said understanding the right time to move on is also part of leadership and that he always thought himself as captain, when it comes to helping the team win matches, even when he was playing under different captains in the past.

Speaking on behalf of a business forum, Virat Kohli spoke about leadership and the importance of understanding one’s role in a team environment as he highlighted that captaincy also has a fixed ‘tenure and time period’.

Virat Kohli’s comments came after he quit as India’s Test captain, bringing an end to his 7-year-long successful tenure. Kohli took over from MS Dhoni as India’s Test captain as early as 2014 and finished as one of the most successful skippers in the longest format of the game. The former captain led India to 40 victories in 68 Tests, becoming India’s most successful captain in whites.

Notably, Kohli had quit T20I captaincy after the T20 World Cup in October last year but said at that time that he wanted to carry on as ODI and Test captain. However, he was sacked as the captain in the 50-over format of the game following India’s early exit in the T20 World Cup.

Kohli led India in South Africa Test series but a day after the visitors were beaten 2-1, Kohli took to social media to announce his decision to give up Test captaincy, helping raise quite a few eyebrows.

“See, I think firstly you need to have a complete understanding of what you set out to achieve and whether you have achieved those targets or not. Everything has a tenure and time period, so you have to be aware of it. As a batter, you might be able to give more to the team, so take pride in that,” Kohli said while speaking on an episode of FireSide Chat.

“You do not need to be a captain to be the leader. When MS Dhoni was in the team, it was not like he was not the leader, he was still the guy from whom we wanted to have input.

“To win or not win is not in your hands, the striving for excellence and to be better every day, is not something you can do short term. When it comes to a culture, it will last beyond your playing years and your responsibility.

“To add to that, moving on is also a part of leadership, to understand the right time to do that. To understand that maybe the environment needs a different direction but obviously with the same cultural value. You continue to contribute to the team in the same manner but in a different role.

“I think one has to embrace all kinds of roles and opportunities. I have played under MS Dhoni for a while and then I became the captain, my mindset has been the same all this while. I always thought like a captain when I was just a player in the team. I want to make the team win. I want to be my own leader.”

‘MY FOCUS WAS ON CULTURAL CHANGE WHEN I BECAME CAPTAIN’

Meanwhile, Kohli said he was particular about creating a good team culture when he took over as captain, adding that it is more important than strategy. Under Kohli’s leadership, India did not lose a single home Test series and won their first-ever Test series in Australia. Last year, India led England 2-1 in a 5-match series which remains incomplete after the 5th Test was postponed due to Covid-19 concerns.

“When I became the captain, my focus was on cultural change. I knew we do not lack in skill, I was thinking about maximizing the talent to its potential.

“I wanted to not confine my vision and if you want to expand it, then you need culture. Culture requires you to work hard every day. It is a constant process, culture is more important than strategy. As a captain, I was more focused on trying to bring in a culture of we are capable of winning from anywhere,” he added.

Kohli played under KL Rahul’s captaincy in the ODI series in South Africa and hit two fifties but both of them were in a losing cause as India lost the series 0-3. He will play under Rohit Sharma in the upcoming ODI and T20I series against the West Indies in February.