Virat Kohli : Captaincy has made me a more responsible batsman

11/22/2016

Virat Kohli has said that leadership has made him a more responsible batsman and that he would assess the load over the next couple of years, after leading India to a 246-run victory in the second Test against England in Visakhapatnam to take a 1-0 lead in the five-match series.

In 19 Tests as captain, Kohli has racked up 1793 runs at 59.76 while notching up half of his 14 Test hundreds. The 28-year-old has so far scored 3891 runs at 48.03 in 50 Tests.

“It’s a difficult thing to detach yourself from being captain when you go out there to bat, especially when you are playing five batters,” he told a news conference at the end of the second Test on Monday.

“The responsibility obviously increases. But it also makes me not hit the ball in the air, which I probably prefer in Test cricket. I feel the more you stay at the wicket, the more time you spend, things start getting easier. Spending time is something that I aim for in Test cricket,” added Kohli who is deputy to MS Dhoni in limited-overs international cricket.

“In other formats, it’s relatively easy on the mind to prepare, because you are only thinking about batting. Obviously, you have to give inputs on the field, but it’s not necessary that you have to take those decisions, you have to give suggestions.

“To keep a check on each and every thing and then to concentrate on your batting, it does take a toll on you, but right now I am pretty fine. Maybe in three-four years, I can analyse how much load I am feeling, but, at the moment, it’s coming along nicely, so I am pretty OK with it.”

Visakhapatnam was Kohli’s 50th Test and the Delhi batsman made it memorable by scoring 167 and 81. He expressed surprise at England’s defensive fourth innings approach.

“It is only if you have intent that you will be able to play the ball accordingly, because you are looking to play with the bat. If you don’t have intent and you are looking to control the ball, and if it does something, then you are in no position to control it. So the edges fly off and you are not in position.

“If you are looking for runs, you defend well because your head is on the ball as well. That was the idea, to get runs as the pitch gets tougher to bat on, show intent and keep getting runs in between, extend the lead so the opposition feels the heat of those 30-40 runs.

“It is a pretty basic thing to do, to be honest, and if you don’t have intent in the fourth innings, it is tough to play out four and a half sessions.”

Virat Kohli : Captaincy has made me a more responsible batsman

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