Yet another chapter in Kohli's rollercoaster journey

When India lifted their second World Cup in Mumbai on the 2nd night of April 2011, Virat Kohli still was an impressionable youngster having played his own bit role in the historic moment.

With chubby cheeks, he was still some distance away from the fitness icon that he has grown to be and even father from the batsman that he has developed into – arguably the best in the business. As India begin their campaign on Wednesday, eight years after their dream run at home, Kohli is not only the best batsman in the side but he is the undisputed leader of the group. If Dhoni insisted on having fit and faster men on the park, Kohli has inspired his team-mates to become fitness freaks. And that has gone a long way in some of the biggest successes India have enjoyed in recent times.

From leading India to Under-19 World Cup title in 2008 to captaining the senior team in his first World Cup, Kohli has had a rollercoaster journey. He has shown fortitude and courage to admit his mistakes and found a way to reach the unimaginable heights as a batsman across all formats. He is already one of India’s most successful captains in Tests and is ripe to script his own legacy. Kohli is no Mike Brearley when it comes to captaincy, but his strength has been to accept that fact and involve people in making decisions on selections and strategy as India captain. The fact that he lets Dhoni run the show while he mans the outfield is a reflection of his maturity; of putting team’s interests ahead of personal ego.

As captain and as a batsman it will be a test of his character over the next one and half months and on the evidence so far, there aren’t many examples of players – past or present -- who have managed to pull off both tasks with as much success as Kohli. If anything, his batting has only improved after taking over as captain.

“It is a matter of great pride for me honestly,” said Kohli when asked about leading India for the first time in what is his third World Cup. “Playing the 2015 World Cup, I never imagined this day because a World Cup is too far off, to think or predict anything. So I think I'm just feeling grateful that I'm in this position to have the opportunity to lead my country in a tournament like the World Cup. It's always going to be a time to remember and a very special feeling so I'm really looking forward to the challenge. It is a different kind of responsibility. You need to be able to absorb a lot more. So, I think from that point of view it's something that is really exciting me to have this kind of a challenge at this stage in my career,” he offered.

Kohli has a unique record of starting each of his previous two World Cups with a century – one against Bangladesh and the other against Pakistan – and obviously there will be expectations from the captain to give India the start they desire.

“Look, when you perform for a long time, expectations are always there and I sort of understood how to go along with the expectations rather than saying I'm not. You don't go out there to prove anything to anyone, which is a fact, but you have to accept that expectations are going to be there. When I walk out to bat, come down the stairs, people will say we need a hundred and all those kinds of things will happen. So, for me, that's just a part of the process now.”

“It's not something that I don't want to hear, or something that I think people should not tell me because when you do well, people obviously want to see you do well again and again because they want to see the team win. So, my focus is again, if I'm in a position to be able to do that again, but more importantly, make the team win, that will be my goal. And if it takes a hundred runs, 150, 50, 60, 70, 40, whatever it is, I'm ready to do that and that's the frame of mind I'm going to be in.”

While he may have come a long way as captain, he admitted that this World Cup was going to be his biggest test in that role but the one that he was looking forward to.

“Looking at the length of the tournament and the format of the tournament, yes, it will be tough for any captain, including myself, playing nine games,” he emphasised. “It's a long tournament. You are playing every side once and you have to think on your feet and adapt very quickly. It's not a bilateral (series), you are not playing a team twice where you can play them once and plan again and come back and play them again. So, you have to be precise. You have to think on your feet. On that day make good decisions, so from that point of view yes, it will be a very, very challenging tournament. And as I said, it's something that I'm looking forward to,” he observed.

DH News Service