I Don’t Look At Myself From The Lens That The Outside World Looks ” Virat Kohli

On being asked about his poor batting form the skipper believes it happened with him he also wants to perform for the team he stated ”It’s not the first time. Let’s not get away from reality too much. It happened a few times in my career. England 2014 was one of those phases. But I don’t look at myself from the lens that the outside world looks at me with. And eventually, the standards we are talking about today, that I’m being compared with, have been set by myself. So they are not an occurrence from outside. And more than anyone else, I take a lot of pride in wanting to do the best thing for the team that I can and want to perform regularly for the team,”

He further added “You have to understand that in sport, sometimes things do not go the way you want them to go. But at the end of the day, I realize as a player, as a batsman, I have been involved in very important moments for the team over the last calendar year or so. And for me, that is a matter of a lot of pride, that I have been part of very important partnerships when the team needed me.

“And eventually those moments have been crucial for us in many Test matches. So sometimes your focal point had to shift. If all the time you look at yourself and judge yourself on the basis of numbers and milestones, I don’t think you will ever be content or happy with what you are doing. And I’m at peace with how I’m playing and what I have been able to do for the team when there’s a tricky scenario.”

  Ravindra Jadeja is available for the Tests in South Africa, Ravichandran Ashwin might have to warm the bench again. The reality is that Ashwin has played in two Tests and his captain is full of praise for his contributions.

“Jadeja’s value everyone understands and everyone knows over the years what he has done for the team. But I think Ash is playing that role beautifully as well for us. If you look at his batting contribution in the last Test and the way he bowled in that second innings – 19 runs in 10 overs and taking a wicket, and he easily could have had two or three – I think that was an outstanding contribution to the team,” Kohli said at the presser.

Ash knows his game has come forward by leaps and bounds, especially bowling overseas. He understands that himself. He is in a very comfortable space where he is willing to contribute to the team. And he is doing so, with the right intention, in the right way. When we have these two quality cricketers, one or the other really doesn’t matter. Unfortunately, Jadeja has had an injury. But Ash has obviously done the job in his absence and we have full faith that Ash can continue to play that role of a spinning all-rounder for use in any conditions.”