In an interview with Sky Sports, Virat Kohli has stated that his India side will require a “relentless madness” over the five Tests to beat England in their ever-favourable home conditions. Kohli has always come across as a hugely driven individual, and his call-to-arms over the “pursuit of excellence everyday” thus comes as no surprise.
The skipper showed his love of the pressurised moments, saying that you must tell yourself, “I want to get into situations which are tough, in every Test match, on every day”. We have been witness to the new-found resilience and never-say-die attitude of this India team over the past eighteen months, and it is clear that such a mindset has been inspired by the talismanic Kohli.
When asked what it would mean to win in England, Kohli played down the hype, suggesting that “it means nothing more than winning a Test match or a Test series anywhere else in the world”. The number four-ranked ICC batsman in the world claimed that “if I had played for milestones in my career I wouldn’t have half of what I have now”.
Uppermost in Kohli’s mind is developing a winning culture, the relentless desire to succeed that so defines his career and his character. He does not want his team going out with a whimper as they play for a draw, preferring that they push for a win no matter what, with defeat a necessary bi-product of the pursuit of victory.
