- 'Only thing that has changed is that I have 40 grey hair in my beard and that's the only thing that has changed since I have become Test captain.'
India's Test skipper Virat Kohli, celebrates his 27th birthday, on Thursday, in Mohali with the hosts taking on South Africa in the first match of the four-Test series.
Kohli revealed it will be a special day as he takes the field in his first home Test as captain.
"It will be an exciting and special for me tomorrow when I take field in my first home game as captain. Secondly it's my birthday as well so it doubles up the excitement for tomorrow," said the flamboyant batsman.
Quizzed on the criticism that he faces about his aggressive attitude, Kohli said he hasn't changed much barring the fact that he is not too expressive on the field.
"There has been a lot of criticism about a lot of things in my life. I have never cared about these things. Eventually people can write and say what they want to, it's their freedom of expression, but when I step onto the field I give my 100 per cent every time. And I don't need to prove that to anyone else. I need to walk out to the field with a clear conscience and be satisfied with my effort today.
"So the only thing that has changed is that I have 40 grey hair in my beard and that's the only thing that has changed since I have become Test captain. I am the same person that started playing for India, obviously you do make mistakes and you learn from them along the way.
"It's not that I find those things very wrong but I thought I was wasting my energies on being too expressive on the field at times which I have started to consume and use it in better places. You only get smarter with age and that I think has happened to me as well. That is not something very unnatural. I have not changed in a big way," he added.
