'Everything has a tenure and time period' - Virat Kohli on his captaincy

Former India captain Virat Kohli said that understanding the right time to move on is very important in leadership. He always thought of himself as captain, while helping the team to win matches, playing under other captains earlier.

Kohli opined on his leadership and the importance of understanding one’s role in a team. He stated that captaincy also has a fixed ‘tenure and time period’. Notably, Kohli has quit the T20I captaincy last year after the T20 World Cup in October. While he was sacked from the ODI captaincy before the South Africa series, he stepped down from the Test captaincy after they lost the series by 1-2.

“See, I think firstly you need to have a complete understanding of what you set out to achieve and whether you have achieved those targets or not. Everything has a tenure and time period, so you have to be aware of it. As a batter, you might be able to give more to the team, so take pride in that,” Virat Kohli said while speaking on an episode of FireSide Chat.

He continued, “You do not need to be a captain to be the leader. When MS Dhoni was in the team, it was not like he was not the leader, he was still the guy from whom we wanted to have input. To win or not win is not in your hands, the striving for excellence and to be better every day, is not something you can do short term. When it comes to a culture, it will last beyond your playing years and your responsibility.

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‘MY FOCUS WAS ON CULTURAL CHANGE WHEN I BECAME CAPTAIN’ – Virat Kohli

“To add to that, moving on is also a part of leadership, to understand the right time to do that. To understand that maybe the environment needs a different direction but obviously with the same cultural value. You continue to contribute to the team in the same manner but in a different role. I think one has to embrace all kinds of roles and opportunities. I have played under MS Dhoni for a while and then I became the captain, my mindset has been the same all this while. I always thought like a captain when I was just a player in the team. I want to make the team win. I want to be my own leader,” Virat Kohli again shared.

Kohli also said that he wanted to create a good team culture while taking over the reins from MS Dhoni. He also added that it is more important than strategy. Under Kohli’s tenure, India didn’t lose a single home Test and won their first-ever Test series in Australia as well.

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“When I became the captain, my focus was on cultural change. I knew we do not lack in skill, I was thinking about maximizing the talent to its potential. I wanted to not confine my vision and if you want to expand it, then you need culture. Culture requires you to work hard every day. It is a constant process, culture is more important than strategy. As a captain, I was more focused on trying to bring in a culture of we are capable of winning from anywhere,” Virat Kohli concluded.

Notably, Kohli played under KL Rahul in the ODI series in South Africa and hit two fifties but India lost the series 0-3. He will play under Rohit Sharma in the upcoming ODI and T20I series against the West Indies at home in February as well.