In a candid chat, Indian cricket stalwarts Virat Kohli and Gautam Gambhir gave fans the memory of a lifetime. Often in the news for the ‘masala’ in their relationship, Kohli opened his heart to Gambhir, the man who recently took over as the head coach of Team India. As the two discussed their careers, personalities and vision on this journey of Indian cricket, some brilliant stories were told.
While discussing the famous 2014-15 Australian series, Virat opened up about the challenge ahead when MS Dhoni announced his retirement as Test captain, putting the responsibility of a young team on Kohli's shoulders.
“What excited me about Test cricket and when I became captain was the challenge. We were in transition when you guys made way for a young team and Mahi bhai left the Test captaincy. I was 25, so for me it was like, 'I'm here with a bunch of 24-25-year-old guys. How do we become household names?' We sat down and thought, 'I really need to plan this. This can't just happen',” Kohli said during the chat with head coach Gambhir in an interview arranged by the BCCI.
Rather than being paralyzed by the weight of responsibility, Kohli decided to rise to the occasion. The rest, as they say, is history.
“When I started thinking about where Indian cricket should be in seven years, the solutions came. We need a group of fast bowlers. We need batters who can bat long. We need to give ownership to five batters and a keeper to get us to 350-400. We can't have a seventh option. I remember the challenge excited me. I wasn't like, 'Oh my God! I don't want to be a part of this.' And then I thought, 'I'm going to go for it.'”
Kohli also found solace in Gambhir's words as the India head coach praised him for the brave manner in which he led the troops despite being just 25 years old himself.
“I can understand what you've been through. A 24-25 year old boy who took Test captaincy and then what you did brilliantly was you had a really strong bowling unit. Test matches are won by taking 20 wickets. Until you have a strong bowling line-up, you're not going to [win]“And that's what made you the country's most successful Test captain,” Gambhir said.
“The credit has to go to you because as a batter it is very easy to have a strong 6-7 batters who put runs on the board but the way you identified and more importantly the attitude you brought from fast bowlers. Imagine if you had the likes of Shami, Bumrah, Ishant, Umesh and then you won overseas. I remember you played that knock in Adelaide. We were chasing 400; it was your first match as captain, and you still wanted to win that Test match. That is the mentality, that is the culture we want to bring,” he further asserted.
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