Kohli sheds light on his captaincy

Indian batter Virat Kohli shed light on his captaincy in a recent podcast with his Indian Premier League (IPL) side Royal Challengers Bangalore.

Under Kohli's direction, India triumphed in 40 of 68 Tests, 65 of 95 ODIs, and 30 of 50 T20Is.

India enjoyed limited overs success away from home during his captaincy, including historic ODI series victories in Australia and South Africa.

They demonstrated impressive dominance at home while also being competitive away in the longer format. This featured the first-ever series victory in 2018–19 in Australia.

However, the Men in Blue couldn't clinch an ICC trophy.

Meanwhile, Kohli did not criticise himself for his failure but said his leadership brought about a cultural change.

"Look you play to win tournaments, and a lot was made of it (India not winning ICC tournaments) to be honest. We reached the finals of the 2017 Champions Trophy, we reached the semis of the World Cup, and finals of the Test Championship, and I was considered as a failed captain. I never judged myself from that point of view," he said.

"What we ended up achieving as a team and the cultural change, for me that’s always going to be a matter of pride because tournaments happen 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 character than just winning a tournament."

Kohli also spoke highly of his friendship with MS Dhoni. As Dhoni's vice-captain, Kohli began his time as a senior team leader.

"With me and MS (Dhoni), there was no question of any awkwardness in that whole period because MS chose me. It wasn’t the other way around. When you understand that as a captain, you already have someone who has been under your wing since he was 23 and vice-captain," Kohli said.

"I was always having conversations with him about what we can do in the field. My suggestion to him is whether we can take it on the board. So I was always his right-hand man. I was always there understanding the game and we also got confidence, because I was playing a lot of match-winning knocks for the team.

"So he understood that I understand the game, I understand where the game is going and what I need to do. I was giving him a lot of input on the field. I was always with the feel of the game.

"He understood that very early, so he kind of took me under his wing and since 2012, I was groomed to be the next guy who’s going to take over. That’s why it (transition) was very smooth."

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