'Was considered a failed captain': Virat Kohli speaks on his captaincy record in ICC tournaments

Virat Kohli has opened up on not winning an ICC trophy as a captain and being seen as a “failed” skipper. Kohli enjoys the tag of being India’s most successful Test captain. Under his leadership, India won 40 Tests, while also coming out victorious in 65 ODIs and 30 T20Is. But despite all the success in the bilateral tournaments, India never won an ICC trophy with Kohli as captain.

Their best was playing in the 2021 World Test Championship final and 2017 Champions Trophy summit clash. India also reached the semi-final of the 2019 ODI World Cup under Kohli. In the 2021 T20 World Cup, they were knocked out of the group stage.

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Reflecting on his captaincy tenure, on the RCB Podcast season 2, Kohli said that he’s not bothered about him being “considered a failed captain,” rather he is proud of the team culture that he was able to build during his tenure.

“I mean we lost the last T20 World Cup (2021), we didn’t qualify (for the semi-finals). We reached the finals of the 2017 Champions Trophy, semis of (the 2019) World Cup and final of the (2021) World Test Championship and I was considered a failed captain,” Kohli said.

“Look, I never judged myself from that point of view. What we ended up achieving as a team and as a cultural change for me will always be a matter of pride. A tournament happens for a certain period of time, but a culture happens over a long period of time. For that, you need consistency, for that you need more character than just winning tournaments.”

Kohli also added that he prefers to look at the right things he has done in his life rather than focussing on what went wrong during his career, saying that he won the World Cup in his first attempt, while Sachin Tendulkar managed to do the same in his sixth World Cup.

“I have won a World Cup (2011) as a player, and a Champions Trophy (2013) as a player. I have been part of a team that has won five Test maces. If you look at it from that point of view, there have been people who have never won the World Cup. I am always grateful for what I have,” Kohli said.

“I was lucky enough to be part of the team (in 2011), to be honest. And what led to my selection was also amazing. I had a run of great scores and I ended up being in the team. I never expected it to happen. When things are meant to be, they are meant to be. There were people in the team, such as Sachin Tendulkar – who was playing his sixth World Cup. And I was able to be a part of the team the first time, and be a part of the winning side.”

“I am looking back at things that I am grateful for not what has gone wrong in my career. I am not mad about my trophy cabinet being full. To me, that has always been a by-product of how you conduct yourself, the kind of discipline you have, and how you are striving towards excellence on a daily basis, and I feel I have been very honest about that aspect of the game,” he added.

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