It’s been a week since all the drama, rumors, and assumptions are circulating in the media regarding the situation in the Indian dressing room. Yesterday, Team India’s Test skipper addressed the media to rubbish all the claims and provide clarity to the fans. He spoke about the South Africa tour, the captaincy fiasco, and more.
Virat Kohli believes that accepting the way things are and not dwelling on the uncontrollable is easier. He stated unequivocally that these untimely developments will not dampen his desire to serve his country. The Board of Control for Cricket in India announced the 18-man Test squad for the South Africa tour on December 8. Mentioning the change in ODI captaincy at the very bottom of the press release. Kohli revealed at the pre-departure press conference on Wednesday that the information of the decision was given to him 1.5 hours before the selection meeting.
We have to keep the things in the right perspective
It will be a difficult road for Virat Kohli to have the peace of mind that he would have preferred before such an important overseas tour. But India’s Test captain appears to have accepted the truth gracefully no matter how painful it is. However, he is preparing to answer his critics with the bat. Speaking to the press, he says, “Nothing can derail me from being motivated to play for India. To be prepared for a tour like this and to perform to the best of my abilities. Nothing has ever derailed and nothing can derail me from that. Yeah, a lot of things that happen on the outside are not ideal and not always how one expects them to be, but you have to understand there’s only so much you can do as an individual.”
“We have to keep the things in the right perspective and do the things that we can as an individual. That is in my control. So I am very focused. I am very mentally prepared and very excited to go to South Africa. And do the best that I can for the team and make the team win,” he adds in response to a Sportskeeda query. Since Virat Kohli voluntarily relinquished the T20I captaincy on September 16, there has been speculation about how the 33-year-old can rediscover his batsmanship and achieve the elusive 71st international ton. We are all keen to see the batsman get back to peak again. Let’s just hope the much-awaited ton comes in this tour.