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Throwback To When Virat Kohli Spoke About His Captaincy Tenure And Its Criticism

image-lrbn2foqVirat Kohli [X.com] 

Virat Kohli's successful captaincy tenure for India spanning 2014 to 2021 remains among the most significant periods in India's cricket history. The batting legend emerged as a courageous and visionary skipper and made some brave decisions on and off the field for the betterment of the team. 

There were mistakes along the way, but Kohli says, he never made a decision for any "selfish motives" and the Indian team was always held in priority behind everything the stalwart did at the helm of affairs in Tests, ODIs and T20Is.

Speaking of his philosophy as a captain during an old interview with Star Sports' anchor Jatin Sapru, Kohli admitted he did make certain errors like all captains do, but his intentions were always right, which is why he enjoyed tremendous success in the most high-pressure job. 

When Kohli Spoke Of Captaincy 


"I have no shame in accepting that I have made many mistakes when I was the captain," Kohli told Sapru. "But the one thing I know for sure is that I never did anything for my own selfish motives."

"That I can take guarantee of that from day 1 till the last day I was captain," he added. "Maine ek bhi kaam wahaan pe apne liye nahi kiya (I never did something for myself)."

"My only goal was the betterment of the team and yes there were mistakes and failures but never something done out of selfishness."

Kohli, who is considered the pioneer of India's five-bowler combination, the team's transformation and rise into a fast-bowling force and for creating a fitness culture in the squad, emerged as one of the most successful captains for the nation. 

Under him, India won 40 of their 68 Tests, 65 of the 95 One-Day Internationals and 30 of the 50 T20Is while reaching the final of the 2017 Champions Trophy, the semifinal of the 2019 World Cup and a Test series win in Australia for the first time in 2018/19 apart from clinching Test wins in England and South Africa.