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‘The more the team becomes mature, the captain starts looking good. If the team doesn't do well, the captaincy bit seems out of control’
‘Maybe five to eight years down the line I will be able to judge myself as a captain if I remain captain for that long’
Virat Kohli said it was too early to pass a judgement on his captaincy but insisted he has become a better batsman after assuming the leadership role since captaincy does not leave any room for complacency.
Kohli credits Kumble for channelling his aggression
Kohli maintained that captain was only as good as his team, refusing a verdict on his leadership.
"I don't judge myself after every series. The priority and the only goal that we have is to win games of cricket. Captaincy will be as good as how your team performs and how consistent the players are. If we are not playing to our potential as players, there's not much I can do as captain.
"The more the team becomes mature, the captain starts looking good. If the team doesn't do well, the captaincy bit seems out of control," Kohli said on the eve of series-opener against Australia.
"Maybe five to eight years down the line I will be able to judge myself as a captain if I remain captain for that long. I feel personally it's too early for me to sit down and judge what I have done well or haven't," he said.
Kohli, who has enjoyed a phenomenal run in recent past both as a batsman and captain, said when you are leader of the side batting becomes a more serious job.
“Captaincy does not allow you to be complacent at any stage especially with the bat if that is your only discipline in the game, in the field as well. In that aspect I think complacency goes out the window as captain," Kohli said.
"You tend to focus a lot more on certain situations which you might or might not without the extra responsibility on your shoulders and may play a loose shot."
Kohli said it hold true for his Australian counterpart Steve Smith as well.
"Captaincy requires you to be on point throughout the game that's one thing which has worked well for me and I think Steve Smith as well. He has been performing consistently with the bat and as captain as well. It's the same scenario there as well. Captain's responsibility has urged him to focus a bit more in certain situations and push that much extra for his team and that has shown in his performances.
"He is the No 1 Test player in the world and there's a reason for that. I can't pinpoint any similarities in our career. I have seen him in the academy he was never a dominant batsman and it's a remarkable achievement for someone starting his career as a leg-spinner."
The young Indian batsman said he hardly thinks about others' opinion about him even as he is quite comfortable in his skin now.
"I am pretty confident of where my game stands and pretty comfortable with myself as a person now. People writing articles or speaking about certain things, that's their job. I have no control over it, they have to write or criticise or not criticise, that's not in my control.
"I focus on my game and that's the priority for me," he said when asked about how he handled the pressure of being in the spotlight all the time.