Can Virat Kohli Still Be Team Leader? Check Out His Thoughts

Mumbai: Virat Kohli is no longer India captain in any of the three formats, but that doesn’t mean he can’t be the team ‘leader’.

Citing the example of MS Dhoni, Kohli said he took inputs from his predecessor even when he was not captain of the team.

“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 inputs. 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,” Kohli said during an episode of ‘Fireside Chat with VK’.

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“To add to that, moving on is also a part of leadership, to understand the right time to do that. I think one has to embrace all kinds of roles and opportunities. I have played under 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,” the 33-year-old said.

Kohli first surprised the cricket fraternity in September when he said he would quit as India’s T20I captaincy after the World Cup. He was then replaced as ODI captain, before he came up with another surprise announcement earlier this month when he stepped down as Test skipper following the series against South Africa which India lost.

Looking ahead, Kohli felt he may be able to contribute more as a batsman.

“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,” remarked Kohli, who is India’s most successful Test captain with 40 wins in 68 matches.