Was lucky to be in centre of Indian team’s transition, admits Virat Kohli

Since Kohli took over the captaincy, he has given a host of young talent a chance to perform at the highest level. Players such as KL Rahul, Hardik Pandya, Rishabh Pant and Mayank Agarwal are all examples of players who have been in the limelight since Kohli took over the reins from MS Dhoni. The Indian team, which was in transition between the years 2014-16, finally started performing as a world-class team with fewer chinks in the armour. 

While in the ongoing World Test Championship, India are miles ahead of its closest competitors - Australia - it shows how consistent their performance has been. In an Instagram live session alongside Kevin Pietersen, Kohli admitted that he was lucky enough to be in the centre of the Indian team’s transition. 

"There is a natural transition that happens in every team and I was lucky that I was in the centre of that transition when it was happening. I got that opportunity to see both sides of things like what we were lacking as a side and what the world was catching up and they were becoming far more superior compared to us," he said, reported Times of India. 

The 31-year-old also talked about how the plan was clear and set for the next generation of talent to walk into the Indian team. Since Kohli has taken over the reins, India have gone from being a sub-standard team to a team that is filled with superstars. However, similar to his franchise side, they have been unable to come back with a major trophy yet. 

"So, the plan was clear when the next lot of players came in, this is the direction we got to go in ... Together, from seven or eight in the world in test cricket, three years we have been the number one (team). It has been quite an astonishing journey and quite unbelievable because we have beaten everyone," he concluded.