Winning in England means nothing more than winning a Test match or a Test series: Virat Kohli

Tags: India tour of England, 2021, India, England, Virat Kohli

Published on: Aug 03, 2021

Team India captain Virat Kohli has stated that winning in England will mean nothing more than winning any other Test match or series for him. According to him, even if India wins in England, it will not be a milestone in his career because, for him, the culture is more important than results.

India are all set to take on England in a five-match series, starting on August 4 in Nottingham. The Indians haven’t won a Test series in England since 2007. Also, the last time they were here, Kohli’s men were thrashed 1-4. Speaking to Dinesh Karthik on Sky Sports, Kohli stated about the upcoming series, "For me personally, it (winning in England) means nothing more than winning a Test match or a Test series anywhere else in the world. As I said, for me, these things are not anecdotes in my career or milestones in my career.

"We step on the field and we compete and we are looking to win every Test match, that is what matters more to me, because again that is a culture, these are results," added Kohli, one of the finest batsmen of the modern era,” he added.

According to Kohli, winning in England may be a huge thing for Indian cricket, but personally he doesn’t play for milestones. He elaborated, "For Indian cricket it will be a huge thing and we have done it before and we can do it again, but this culture is what is dearer to me and I will do everything in my ability, even if you lose a Test match. I want us to go for the win and not surrender and try to save a Test match on day three or day four, that for me is just not acceptable."

"So, for me as I said, milestones don't matter at all. If I had played for milestones in my career, I probably would not have half of what I have right now. My mindset is pretty clear and for us it is just pursuit of excellence," Kohli further said.

Asked what qualities are needed for a side to win in England, the Indian captain singled out relentless madness and pursuit of excellence every day of a Test match. He stated, "It takes relentless madness and pursuit of excellence every day over a five-Test series, to tell yourself ‘I want to do the hard work and I want to get into situations which are tough in every Test match on every day’. And you are going to be ready for that kind of workload, and that kind of mental load," Kohli added.

Meanwhile, Team India were dealt a blow ahead of the first Test with Mayank Agarwal being ruled out of the Nottingham Test due to concussion after being struck on the helmet during practice

--By A Cricket Correspondent

Related News