The Indian Cricket Team achieved immense greatness during Virat Kohli’s tenure as captain. However, Team India failed to win ICC trophies during this tenure that made many former cricketers and experts question him.
Speaking on RCB podcast, Kohli admitted that the change in team culture was the highlight of his tenure.
“Look you play to win tournaments, and a lot was made of it (India not winning ICC tournaments) to be honest,” Kohli said. “ We reached the finals of 2017 Champions Trophy, we reached the semis of the World Cup and finals of the Test Championship, and I was considered as a failed captain. I never judged myself from that point of view.
“What we ended up achieving as a team and the cultural change, for me that’s always going to be a matter of pride because tournaments happen 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 character than just winning a tournament.”
In reaction to Kohli’s remark, Panesar took to Twitter to write, “Unfortunately, that’s the pressure of being captain of India. No one remembers second or third place teams. We always remember winners of ICC tournaments.”
Under Kohli’s captaincy, India reached the final of 2017 ICC Champions Trophy, the final of 2021 ICC World Test Championship, and the semis of the 2019 ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup.
