Citing Mahendra Singh Dhoni as an example, Virat Kohli says that one does not need to be the captain of a team to be a leader and that now that he is no longer the captain of India, he is the mainstay of the team’s batting. can contribute more.
Kohli stunned the cricketing world earlier this month when he resigned from the Test captaincy after a 1-2 series loss in South Africa. He ended up as India’s most successful Test captain.
His unexpected decision came when he resigned from the T20 side before being dropped as the ODI captain.
During Digit Insurance’s ‘Fireside Chat with VK’, Kohli spoke about how one can contribute to a team even if he is not its leader.
“Everything has a term and a time period. Obviously you should be aware of this. People may say ‘what has this guy done’ but you know when you think about going ahead and achieving more, you think you’ve done your job.
“Now as a batsman you can have more things to contribute to the team. You can lead the team to more victories. So be proud of that. You don’t have to be a captain to be a leader. As simple as that,” he said.
Kohli took over the captaincy from MS Dhoni first in Tests and then in limited overs cricket.
“When MS Dhoni was in the team it was not that he was not a leader. He was still the guy we were going to get constant input from.
“…but for him to understand that yes it is natural progress and it is natural for me to take Indian cricket to the level that I wanted and move forward as long as I feel I have achieved the goal of materialistic goals. Without doing that work, which has a long lasting effect.”
Kohli also talked about the timing of moving on. Rohit Sharma has taken over as the white-ball captain from him, while the board is yet to announce his successor in the five-day format.
“Deciding to move forward is also part of leadership to understand the right time to do it. To understand that environment may require a different direction. Clearly the same culture but a different set of ideas for people to promote and contribute in a different way.
“There are all kinds of roles and responsibilities to be played. I have played under MS as a player and I have been the captain of the team for a long time, my mindset has been the same.
“Even when I was a player, I always thought like a captain. I want the team to win. I want to be my own leader,” he said.
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