Virat Kohli, in keeping with his effervescent image, brimmed with confidence about India’s chances in the Asia Cup at the team’s arrival press conference, here on Sunday.
Excerpts:
Dhoni’s absenceWe have been very consistent in the One-Day format, and one big reason has been his consistency and captaincy. His not being there is a big change, but I am sure guys like Dinesh Karthik will make the most of the opportunity.
High success-rate as captainI have captained in only about eight games, and things have been pretty good thus far [India won seven of those matches]. But the Asia Cup is my first big tournament as captain. It excites me to have a young group that I can have a chat with, and it gives me a chance to test where I stand as an International captain.
Stepping into Dhoni’s shoesI don’t think this is anything compared to what he [Dhoni] has gone through in the past few years. It’s a completely different thing if you’re regularly captaining the side and taking so much criticism. I am not in a position to experience all that now because I have got this one off opportunity as was the case in the past.
I don’t think I need to change too much about the way I approach the game.
Bucking the losing trendWe didn’t have a great tour to New Zealand, but like how you have a bad series after a few good series, you can change it around in this case as well. One good performance and the momentum is with you.
Difficulty in living up to the ‘youth icon’ tagIt’s as difficult as I want to read into it. I play cricket with honesty and passion, and that’s what people connect to. Again, off the field, it isn’t my aim to show people that I have a new hairstyle or something. I do things I like, and if people like that it’s not a bad thing.
