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After seven long years in charge of the Indian team, Virat Kohli recently stepped down as Test captain, which brought to an end his stint as captain across formats. The player has now shed light on his time as the skipper of the side and always thought like a captain even when he was just a player.
"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.
According to him, winning and losing is part of the game and is not in anyone's hand. Performing at the highest level and doing the job takes time and is not a short-term process. Leaving the role of captain is also part of the leadership as he further highlighted the importance of cultural values.
"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,” the right-handed Kohli asserted.
Kohli, 33, insisted that his focus was always on cultural change by the time he became captain. The World Cup-winner was determined to maximise the potential in the squad and rated his teammates highly because they never lacked skills. Kohli, had a successful stint in charge of the Indian team as he led the team to success overseas.
"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," Kohli concluded.
The Delhi-born batter continues to remain an icon for many, having been part of the Indian team that won the 2011 ODI World Cup. His success could be highlighted by the fact that Team India won 40 Test matches out of his 68 in charge, most by any Indian captain. He also guided the Indian team to the World Test Championship (WTC) final in 2021, where the Indian team finished runners-up.
