With 47 international centuries, Virat Kohli gives the vibe of an all-time great in the making but the India captain said he doesn’t play keeping that in mind.
“I don’t play for the three-figure mark, maybe that’s why I end up crossing it more times because I am not thinking about it. So I don’t put myself under pressure. For me, what’s most important is to win the match for the team,” said Kohli at a press conference on Saturday.
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“Even if I am 98 not out or 99 not out, I don’t mind, as long as I win the game. In that process, things end up happening because you want to stay till the end. If there are enough runs on the board you end up achieving those landmarks, because you are thinking of that end result (and) not about you reaching that landmark. So my motivation has never been that, it will never be that,” said Kohli who has a phenomenal 30 centuries from 194 ODIs.
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Irrespective of how long he will play, Kohli said he wouldn’t change his approach towards batting and think about records. “Whatever time I play, 8 years, 10 years, 12 years whatever it is, I will never think of that because it just doesn’t come to me naturally. For me what’s most important is how I can help the team win with the bat, giving my 120 per cent every time I step onto the field and preparing accordingly. That, I think, is more important to me than the personal landmark,” he said.
{{/usCountry}}Irrespective of how long he will play, Kohli said he wouldn’t change his approach towards batting and think about records. “Whatever time I play, 8 years, 10 years, 12 years whatever it is, I will never think of that because it just doesn’t come to me naturally. For me what’s most important is how I can help the team win with the bat, giving my 120 per cent every time I step onto the field and preparing accordingly. That, I think, is more important to me than the personal landmark,” he said.
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“They (the records) feel good afterwards because, yes, you have scored runs and made the team win but you can’t start off thinking about things because you lose the ultimate goal, which is to win the game for the team,” he said.