In the RCB Podcast Season 2, Virat Kohli said that even after reaching the semifinal and finals of the ICC tournaments, he has been tipped as a “failed captain.”
Kohli relinquished the captaincy from all formats last year.
“Look, you play to win tournaments. I captained in Champions Trophy 2017 (reached the final), 2019 WOrld CUp (reached the semifinal), I captained in World Test Championship (reached the final), and T20 World Cup in 2021 (failed to qualify for the knockouts). After three (four) ICC tournaments, I was considered as a failed captain,” said Kohli.
Kohli said bringing a cultural change in the Indian cricket team will always be a matter of pride for him.
“I never judged myself from that point of view; what we ended up achieving as a team and as a cultural change that always going to be a matter of pride for me.
“A tournament happens for a certain period of time but a culture happens over a long period of time and for that you need consistency for that you need more characters than just winning a tournament.”
“I won a World Cup as a player. I won the Champions Trophy as a player. I have been part of the team that has won five Test maces. If you look at that point of view there have been people, who have never won a World Cup,” he added.
Kohli also spoke about how lucky he was to be part of the 2011 ODI World Cup-winning side.
“To be honest, I was lucky enough to be part of that 2011 team. And what led to my selection was also amazing because I had a great run of great scores, and I ended up being with the team.
“Sachin Tendulkar was playing in his sixth World Cup, and that was the one he won. I was able to be a part of the team for the first time, and I ended up being part of the winning side.
“I am looking back at things that I am grateful for not what has gone wrong in my career. I am not mad for my trophy cabinet to be full,” he said.
Kohli has played 106 Tests, 271 ODIs and 115 T20Is for India in a career spanning 15 years scoring over 25000 international runs.