“That record means nothing to me”: Virat Kohli brushes aside captaincy comparison after equaling MS Dhoni’s record

Virat Kohli brushes aside captaincy comparison: The Indian captain doesn’t consider captaincy records as individualistic achievements.

India captain Virat Kohli, who had actively interacted with the spectators whilst playing the second Test against England at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, believes that a home crowd can create a “difference” when it comes to pressurising the opposition.

Speaking at a virtual press conference on the eve of the third Test in Ahmedabad, Kohli hoped for a supportive atmosphere with the refurbished stadium set to host as many as 50,000 spectators throughout the five days.

“Crowd plays a massive role. The crowd really gets behind us and the difference of which we saw in the second Test. You know, the opposition does feel the pressure when you go to play in Australia, England, South Africa and New Zealand or anywhere.

📍Motera Stadium #TeamIndia pic.twitter.com/GllgEwtUgJ

— Virat Kohli (@imVkohli) February 23, 2021

“Our experience is that as a batsman when you walked into the field and thirty thousand fans are going in your way, clapping as bowlers running into bowl, it does get in your head. So, you would love for that atmosphere to be present and make life more difficult for the opposition and really get behind the team,” Kohli told reporters.

Virat Kohli brushes aside captaincy comparison

Kohli, who led India to a comprehensive victory in the previous match, equaled former India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s record of most Test wins (21) at home. While another Test victory at home would see Kohli surpassing Dhoni, he will also equal his ex-captain in the fourth Test regarding most matches (60) as an Indian Test captain.

Being asked about the same, Kohli brushed aside any comparison with Dhoni and didn’t shy away from stating that such records mean nothing to him citing their “individual point of view”.

“That record means nothing to me. Records are something that are looked at from an individual point of view and that’s not what we play sport for. Whether its individual records as a batsman or whether it’s the number of wins as a captain, I’m performing a responsibility as a captain to the best of my ability.

“None of the records are meant to be forever. These are very fickle things which probably look very good from the outside. [Comparing people] That’s something people from the outside really love to do but that really doesn’t matter to any of us, to be very honest. The mutual respect, understanding and camaraderie that we have as teammates [or your ex-captain] is something that you hold really close to your heart,” Kohli said.

About the author

Dixit Bhargav

Born and brought up in Pathankot, Dixit Bhargav is an engineering and sports management graduate who works as a Cricket Editor at The SportsRush. Having written more than 10,000 articles across more than five years at TSR, his first cricketing memory dates back to 2002 when former India captain Sourav Ganguly had waved his jersey at the historic Lord’s balcony. What followed for an 8-year-old was an instant adulation for both Ganguly and the sport. The optimist in him is waiting for the day when Punjab Kings will win their maiden Indian Premier League title. When not watching cricket, he is mostly found in a cinema hall watching a Punjabi movie.

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