I Just Want to Perform for the Team”, Virat Kohli

Ahead of the 5-match test series in England, Indian Team Captain Virat Kohli has made it very clear that he has put the criticism of the last tour of England behind him. When asked about his response to the criticism of the 2014 tour of England, where he scored 134 runs in 10 innings, Kohli said that it was his sole wish to try and take Indian cricket forward. “I’m not in a frame of mind to prove myself in any country, I just want to perform for the team,” he said, adding, “Obviously I want to score runs for the team and I want to take Indian cricket forward, and that’s my only motive.”

The first of the test matches is scheduled to begin at 3:30 IST (10:00 GST) and will pit India against a worthy opposition in the form of a young and dominating England side. Prior to this, India won the T20 series, but lost the ODI series to the host nation. Furthermore, the last test series win for India was back in 2007, so in a manner of speaking, there is some prestige to be gained from putting up a winning performance in the upcoming series. Sporting an up-and-coming lineup of young stars and now seasoned campaigners, India go into the series as the best test side in the world, with hosts England currently in fifth place.

Speaking on whether India were the current underdogs in the series or the favourites to win, Kohli stated that there was not much difference between either label, in reality, saying, “If you’re an underdog it’s not a given that the pressure will only be on the opposition. “If you’re the favourites it’s not certain that the underdogs will just come out and be fearless the whole time.”