Virat Kohli: IPL 2023 – In the RCB podcast season 2, legendary cricketer Virat Kohli confessed that despite making it to the finals and semi-finals of ICC tournaments he was labeled as a ‘failed captain.’ In his five-plus tenure as captain, the former India captain led India to three ICC events as skipper, but the trophy deserted him. Experts and critics came harshly down on Kohli and felt he lacked the mental toughness to take India over the line in the critical matches. Follow IPL 2023 Live Updates with InsideSport.IN.
“Look, you play to win tournaments. I captained in Champions Trophy in 2017 (reached the final), the 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 a failed captain,” said Kohli.
Ahead of IPL 2023, RCB star Virat Kohli rues not winning ICC Silverware as captain, says ‘I was considered as failed captain’
Virat Kohli: I never judged myself on winning trophies, Kohli says he is proud of the team for achieving cultural change
Undoubtedly, Kohli’s biggest legacy as captain was the fitness culture that he brought to the team. The right-hand batter also brought an aggressive and winning mentality to the team. Kohli the Test captain would never settle for a draw, and that set him apart from the rest. The former captain is proud of bringing this cultural change to the Indian team.
“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.”
Despite not winning the World Cup as captain, as a player, Kohli won ICC 2011 World Cup and the Champions Trophy in 2013. The 34-year-old said he was lucky to be part of the 2011 World Cup winning squad and said he was privileged to have won the event with Sachin Tendulkar.
“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.
Ahead of IPL 2023, RCB star Virat Kohli rues not winning ICC Silverware as captain, says ‘I was considered as failed captain’
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