During his time as India’s captain from 2014 to 2021, Virat Kohli reflected on his inability to secure any ICC titles. He also acknowledged his good fortune in being a part of the Indian team that emerged victorious in the 2011 World Cup.
Kohli took over as Test captain from MS Dhoni during the 2014-15 tour of Australia, and later led India across formats in 2017. Throughout his tenure, he led the Indian team to the final of the 2017 ICC Champions Trophy, the 2019 ICC World Cup semifinal, and the 2021 ICC World Test Championship (WTC) final. Additionally, India remained the top Test team for five consecutive years.
Kohli stepped down as T20I captain before the 2021 T20 World Cup and relinquished the Test captaincy in 2022 after losing a series to South Africa. Despite leading his team to the semifinals and finals of several ICC tournaments, Kohli expressed frustration in being labelled a “failed captain” during his appearance on the RCB podcast season 2.
“Look, you play to win tournaments. I captained in Champions Trophy 2017 (reached the final), 2019 WOrld CUp (reached the semifinal), I captained in World Test Championship (reached the final), and T20 World Cup in 2021 (failed to qualify for the knockouts). After three (four) ICC tournaments, I was considered as a failed captain,” said Kohli.
“I never judged myself from that point of view; what we ended up achieving as a team and as a cultural change that always going to be a matter of pride for me. A tournament happens for a certain period of time but a culture happens over a long period of time and for that you need consistency for that you need more characters than just winning a tournament,” the Delhi lad added.
“I won a World Cup as a player. I won the Champions Trophy as a player. I have been part of the team that has won five Test maces. If you look at that point of view there have been people, who have never won a World Cup,” he added further.
However, Kohli was a member of the Indian team that emerged victorious in the 2011 World Cup held in India, making him a World Cup winner. He attributed his success to good fortune, acknowledging that he was lucky to be a part of the winning squad.
“To be honest, I was lucky enough to be part of that 2011 team. And what led to my selection was also amazing because I had a great run of great scores, and I ended up being with the team. Sachin Tendulkar was playing in his sixth World Cup, and that was the one he won. I was able to be a part of the team for the first time, and I ended up being part of the winning side.
I am looking back at things that I am grateful for not what has gone wrong in my career. I am not mad for my trophy cabinet to be full,” the 34-year-old concluded.
