MISSING COUNTY HAS BEEN BLESSING IN DISGUISE, SAYS KOHLI
His meticulous build-up plan was thrown haywire by injury but fit-again Indian cricket captain Virat Kohli on Friday said missing the much-anticipated county stint before the tour of England has turned out to be a blessing in disguise.
“In hindsight, when I look at it now, it’s the best thing that has happened for me. I wanted to go and experience as this is the place where we haven’t played so much aa there’s big gap of four years and you forget what conditions were when you played last time,” Kohli said in a press conference ahead of team’s departure for UK on Friday night.
“I would have gone there feeling 90 percent rather than 110 percent that I feel right now. I would rather be like this as I needed to be fresh for the tour. Although not intended but this is the best thing to have happened,” he added.
His poor show during the last tour of England had come under intense scrutiny but Kohli feels that critics have “held on” to the 2014 tour for far “too long”.
“I think lot of people have held on to the last tour of England for too long. I think we have had the Champions Trophy (2017) in between and it wasn’t held in Bangladesh,” he said.
That he doesn’t like the same question again and again was proved as he spoke about how he looks at a tour. Asked about his targets this time, he said: “I was asked this on the last tour of England as well. I said I want to walk around and have coffee. So my thinking is different when I go on tour as I try to literally to enjoy the country.”
“I am hundred percent ready to go. The neck is fine now. I have had six to seven sessions in Mumbai. I have had good practice and I am absolutely ready to go,” skipper concluded.