Blues on calypso beat

Bengaluru: Virat Kohli wears his heart on his sleeve and is someone who gives as good as he gets. On the field, he’s this intense, animated character pushing the boundaries of excellence and raising the bar higher. As a player, it’s different but as a captain it turns everything around.

A fierce competitor, a super achiever and having taken over the mantle in a really short span of time, Kohli is a go-getter in all aspects. It’s just that, as opposed to his immense capability as a player, Kohli has realised that the benchmark he sets for himself may be asking a little too much from the others.

Ahead of the four-Test tour of West Indies, the 27-year-old Kohli revealed his line of thinking when queried on whether the high standards he sets for himself and a possible No.1 slot in the ICC rankings in case of a 4-0 series win is what drives him.

“There are different definitions of high standards. Our definition of high standards is not to become No. 1 in Tests. I don’t think any team plays for rankings. The main goal of a team is to play good cricket. That is something that we can control,” Kohli said on Monday.

The Test skipper then elucidated his thought process saying becoming No.1 is an incentive, not the sole factor. “If you are No. 1 and not playing then some other team will take that spot. What is in our control is good cricket on the field and these are by products of that.”

“Whenever you go into a Test, an ODI or a T20 match, your first intention is to win. You need to do things repetitively and that’s exactly what we think of any game of cricket. We want to play good cricket as an Indian cricket team and for us, home series, away series, every series, the priority is to win,” Kohli elaborated.