When Team India land in England to begin their title defence of the ICC Champions Trophy, it will be the first time that Virat Kohli will captain the Men in Blue in an ICC event. Having led India in 20 ODIs so far, Virat will have big shoes to fill in not only ensuring that India retain the title of a tournament that is crisp and highly competitive but also build on MS Dhoni’s splendid record in ICC tournaments. In the 50-over format, India won the 2011 ICC World Cup and the 2013 ICC Champions Trophy under Dhoni.
In the pre-departure interaction held in Mumbai, Virat made it clear that India will not burden themselves with the tag of ‘defending champions’. “I think the first challenge is not to think about the fact that we are defending the title. When we went there the last time, we just wanted to enjoy ourselves as a young unit. We ended up winning the tournament and ended up creating a team which has done so well so far.”
He said the team will continue to be ruthless on the field as they have throughout the season. “In Test cricket, we have been able to reach the top with the mindset of enjoying our game and having that hunger to win. We have taken it across all formats. Ruthlessness is something we definitely speak about all the time. Even if we close series off, we want to win it without losing a game or drawing a game as well, if possible. We go in with that mindset and that goes a long way in a tournament like this. If we can think about our games in that manner, we get the results more often than not.”
Virat felt that the Champions Trophy was a more competitive tournament than the traditional World Cup. “The tournament is much shorter and you have the top eight teams in the world, the competitiveness of the tournament is much higher from the word go.
“In the World Cup, you can still have the league games and you have time to get into the World Cup and then dominate in the second half. But in Champions Trophy, you have to be on top of your game from game one. If you are not, your chances go down soon. That's the biggest challenge in the Champions Trophy and something that all the players love playing, for sure.”
With a combined experience of 582 ODIs between them, Virat said that the team will bank on Yuvraj Singh and Dhoni in critical times. He said when the two are out in the middle, it has a ripple effect on the other members in the team and it lifts their morale. “They have enough experience that if you give them freedom to play their game in the middle order, am sure they know most how to build the match, how to win, or come out of difficult situations,” said Virat. “What we got to see in the last series (against England) was that they played freely and were enjoying batting with each other like they did without the burden initially. The players above them also get confident and I think, overall, it was good for the team.
“The team environment received a boost because when these two players play with good mindset, the team’s outlook is different. I will regard them as the two strongest pillars of the team. The better their mindset, the better for the team.”
He said the reasons for success in the 2013 editions were mainly three; attacking openers, in-form spinners and a fast bowling unit that offered depth. “The last Champions Trophy, the revelation for us was the opening partnership of Rohit (Sharma) and Shikhar (Dhawan). The pair was great to see for all Indian fans and the team. It definitely played a part in the team going on to win. (R) Ashwin and (Ravindra) Jadeja were on top of their game and even the fast bowlers bowled well,” he pointed out.
“Even as a fielding side, we were the best last time around. These three things we identified then and we would like to stick to the same strengths. These are the three factors which we believe determine the way we play in conditions such as England and how far we can go in the Champions Trophy.”
After the two warm-up games against New Zealand (May 28) and Bangladesh (May 30), India will play Pakistan in their first Group B match on 4th July at Edgbaston. Huge hype around the clash notwithstanding, Virat said India will prepare in the same manner as they do against every other opposition. “Yes, India-Pakistan game is always exciting for all the fans and people in general, the atmosphere in this game is different. But for us as cricketers, you ask players from both sides, it is just a game of cricket. The hype created around it is not in our control. We prepare for it like it’s any other game. The atmosphere around the ground is different, but in our heads, nothing really changes. Whether we play England, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand or Pakistan, it’s the same for us.
“There is no need to talk anything different. It’s not the first time we are playing against them. There is no need to prepare differently for the game. We go about it the same way. There is no need to motivate players any differently. If you’re playing for India, there is no need for any separate motivation. There is no need to be extra motivated against one particular side. Yes, you need to be passionate, but there is no need to get emotional against one side. You need to play with the same kind of passion regardless of who you play against,” he added.
