I was considered a failed captain for not winning ICC trophies: Kohli

Former India captain Virat Kohli has said that a section of experts and fans have labeled him a ‘failed’ captain for not winning an International Cricket Council (ICC) title. Under Kohli’s captaincy, the Indian team failed to win the Champions Trophy in 2017, the World Cup in 2019, the World Test Championship in 2021 and the T20 World Cup in 2021. Kohli said that all these defeats were made a big deal because he was part of the team that won the 2011 World Cup and 2013 Champions Trophy under the captaincy of Mahendra Singh Dhoni.

When Kohli was asked whether he regrets never lifting an ICC trophy while leading the team, he said, “Look, you play to win tournaments. That led to a lot (not lifting an ICC trophy as captain). I captained the Champions Trophy in 2017, I captained the 2019 World Cup team, I captained India in the final of the first season of the World Test Championship.

Kohli said in the second season of ‘RCB Podcast’, “After all these three ICC tournaments, we lost the last (2021) T20 World Cup.” We could not qualify (knockout stage). We reached the final of the 2017 Champions Trophy, the semi-finals of the World Cup (2019), the final of the (World) Test Championship and still I was considered a failed captain.

The former captain said he is proud of himself for bringing about a ‘cultural change’ in the team. He said, “I never judge myself from that point of view (loss in ICC tournament). What we achieved as a team and for me is a cultural change. It is always going to be a point of pride because a tournament is for a certain period of time. But a culture is long term and for that you need continuity.

Kohli said, “For that (cultural change), you need more passion than winning tournaments. So, I won the (2011) World Cup as a player, I won the Champions Trophy (2013) as a player, I was part of the team that won five Test maces. ‘ If you look at it from that point of view, there have been players who have never won the World Cup. I am forever grateful for whatever I have.

He drew comparisons with Sachin Tendulkar, saying that the great had won the World Cup in his sixth attempt, even though he was part of the team that won the World Cup in his very first appearance. Kohli said, “If I am not mistaken, Sachin Tendulkar was playing 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 became a part of a winning team. But I have to see what goes right in my career and I am grateful for that.

Kohli said, “I am not very emotional about filling my trophy cabinet. For me it has always been a result of work, how you conduct yourself, what kind of discipline you have and how you are striving towards excellence on a daily basis. I think I have been very honest towards that aspect. He also remembered former India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni for being there for him in difficult times when he was going through a bad phase on the cricket field. The charismatic wicket-keeper batsman was the only person to contact him when he was away.

Kohli regained his old touch last month by scoring three centuries in four ODIs. He had earlier ended a three-year drought of hundreds in international cricket by scoring a century in the Asia Cup T20 tournament in September 2022. There is a strong bond between Kohli and Dhoni. These words of Kohli prove it. Kohli said, “Anushka was my biggest strength at that time because she was living with me and she saw very closely how I felt… MS Dhoni was the only person apart from my childhood coach and family during this time. were the ones who contacted me.

Kohli shared the dressing room with Dhoni for 11 years between 2008 and 2019. He described the charismatic cricketer from Ranchi as his ‘captain’ forever. Kohli said, “He contacted me himself because it is very difficult to contact Dhoni. If I call him on any given day, 99 per cent he doesn’t pick up because he is away from the phone.

“So it was good to be approached from their side and that too (done) twice. He explained to me, “When you are expected to be strong and you are seen as a strong person, people forget to ask how are you?” Kohli explained, “His (Dhoni’s) ) Things made a deep impression on me, because I have always been seen as a person who is very confident, very strong mentally, who can bear any situation and find a way out, also we can show the way.

The veteran batsman said, “Sometimes, what you realize is that at some point in life as a human being, you need to take a few steps back and understand what your own well being is. When Kohli suddenly relinquished the Test captaincy after the tour of South Africa in January 2022, he had also said that only Dhoni had sent him the message.