Citing Mahendra Singh Dhoni as example, Virat Kohli says one doesn’t need to be a captain of a team to be a leader and now that he is not the India skipper, he might contribute more as the side’s batting mainstay.
Kohli shocked the cricketing world earlier this month when he stepped down from Test captaincy following the 1-2 series defeat in South Africa. He ended up as India’s most successful Test captain. His unexpected decision came after he stepped down from the T20 side before being removed as ODI skipper. During Digit’s Firseside Chat with VK, Kohli spoke how one can contribute to the team even when he is not its leader.
Achieving more
“Everything has a tenure and time period. You obviously have to be aware of that. People might say ‘what this guy has done’ but you know when you think of moving forward and achieving more, you feel like you have done your job.
“Now as a batsman may be you have more things to contribute to the team. You can make the team win more. So take pride in that. You don’t need to be a captain to be a leader. As simple as that,” he said.
Kohli had taken over captaincy from MS Dhoni, first in Tests and then limited overs cricket. “When MS Dhoni was in the team it was not like that he was not a leader. He was still the guy we were going to constantly to get inputs.
A natural progression
“… but for him to understand that yes it is natural progression and a natural time for me to take over and take Indian cricket forward to a level that I wanted to and as long as I feel that I have done that job without having materialistic goals, that has a longer lasting effect.”
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