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ICC CHAMPIONS TROPHY

May 25, 2017

Virat Kohli

The Oval, London

Q. It is in the nature of all cricketers, internationals, that you will go play in places where there have been bombs. Unfortunately that's been life for a lot of cricketers over the last few years. How do you feel specifically about being in England at this time, where this country is in a heightened level of security? Do you feel any particular nervousness about it?
VIRAT KOHLI: Firstly, what happened here a few days back was really saddening and very disturbing for everyone who saw it. And especially a place like England, to say the least, has not had many of these incidents happen in the past.

So, yeah, I mean, for a few people it can be sort of a nervous time. But I don't think as a squad you have time to focus on those factors, because eventually you understand that you're here for a sporting tournament.

And that for us remains paramount in our thought patterns. And I personally don't feel any nervousness as such. I saw life resume pretty normally. And that's always a healthy sign.

There wasn't anything disturbing to see on the streets, to say the least, nothing different from what I've seen in the past. So that is very reassuring.

So I'm sure the whole squad feels that way. Me personally, I'm not at all nervous about being in England at the moment, and I'm actually excited to play the tournament.

Q. You started defence of the trophy, which you won in 2013. Should be confident, but this with respect to a press release that was sent by BCCI this morning on them starting an interview process for the head coach as Anil Kumble's contract ends shortly. The intention is not to distract, but how important is continuity after a long season that Kumble has coached the team? If you can talk also about his contribution.
VIRAT KOHLI: Obviously when you have results come your way, the contribution is from every part of the team. It's not from a single source, to say the least. Everyone works hard equally, if not more than the other person.

With regards to what you just mentioned, the process has been followed every single time the similar way in Indian cricket for the past so many years is what I know. Even the last time the post was up for a change, the same procedure was applied. And the term being one year, obviously the procedure is being followed in the same manner.

So I don't see anything very different from what has happened in the past. And that's something that the board has obviously recognized. And they want to follow the same patterns.

So, yeah, I literally don't have any more information on it because there is a committee that takes those decisions, and they're following the same pattern that's been followed in the past as well.

Q. I wonder whether you and the other players have been briefed on the plans that are in place for you? And are you confident and happy with the plans that are in place going forward, that the whole squad will be sufficiently protected while you're here?
VIRAT KOHLI: I think we just arrived in the morning. And the first thing was to get some sleep, which I haven't managed to do a lot. So we're pretty safe on that front, you know, just being in the hotel and getting some sleep.

We have security briefings throughout the day. We have a lot more information in terms of specifics that we need to keep in mind. And as I said, I see life resuming very normally. And obviously with the security information coming in as well, it will be very helpful for the players, you know. What are the areas we can access? What times we can access it? What are the areas we need to avoid? All the sort of things obviously come into play when you have a situation like this which the players need to respect.

I'm sure there's going to be a lot of transparency about the issue, because there's a lot at stake for everyone here. The cricketers, the ICC, ECB, everyone is worried about everyone's security. So I'm sure it's going to be taken care of.

Q. You're the defending champions. What qualities do you think the team has to retain the title? And secondly for you, first major ICC tournament as a captain, any challenges over there for you?
VIRAT KOHLI: Well, I'm personally very excited as captain to be playing my first major ICC tournament. As far as the team goes, the last time we were able to win was because our fast bowlers did really well. The spinners were obviously bowling well. They were in form.

The fielding stood out and the opening partnership was outstanding. I figured out these were the three factors that helped us win the tournament and go so far.

Those, we have recognized in England, are the areas that need to be strong for you to be able to go a long way in any tournament or a series. The team is much fitter from then. The cricketers are much more mature. There was a totally young group and a lot of them are playing this team from that squad, which they've gained a lot of experience over the last three, four years. So that's going to help as well. But so have the other teams improved also. So Champions Trophy, I personally love the tournament because it presents a challenge to you right from the first game.

In a tournament like World Cup, you still have league games to get into the tournament. But here you have only three games and then you're either out or you play the semis. I think that's a great thing about this tournament. We certainly have to be absolutely on the top of our game to have a great chance in this particular run.

Q. You had a long home season where you played a lot of Test matches and there was IPL obviously, which is a different format. And now it's ODI cricket, which is another format. How easy or difficult is it to adjust between formats so quickly?
VIRAT KOHLI: I think the only challenge I feel is taking care of your body. Mentally, it's up to individuals to base their game in a way that they can switch pretty quickly, because that is the need of the game in this day and age.

I personally don't like to choose formats and give preference to one over the other.

I like to be involved in all three equally. Try to contribute as much as I can. And I'm sure all the guys on the team think in that manner as well.

I think it's just a little mental adjustment. But it's the physical care of your body that's paramount, I think, to switch between formats because the body reacts very differently to different formats.

So that being taken care of, I don't think there's much that needs to be adjusted in any particular manner apart from that. Even if you see Test cricket and ODIs now they're played in such an explosive manner, because of T20 cricket coming in.

The game is actually moving forward with cricketers playing all three formats and really finding what they can do in different formats. I think it's a little adjustment mentally, but the physical factor becomes massive.

Q. You've obviously got better of England in all three formats this winter. But in the one-day, the 50-over format, in particular, that three-match series was incredibly hard-fought. And obviously England's progress in recent years has been startling compared to the levels that they used to have in 50-over cricket. What can you make of their progress. And do you think that it may harbinger a tournament that's just filled with runs in the next few days?
VIRAT KOHLI: Could be, depends on the kind of wickets that we play on. Speaking of England, I think they're a very, very balanced side. I think one of the two best balanced sides I would say in the world at the moment. They bat right down to No. 9 or 10. All explosive players, five or six guys can do both bat and bowl and gun fielders as well.

That's why they give you such a tough competition anywhere they play in the world, one-day cricket, and we experienced that in India as well.

They're pretty hard to get past and something that's going to be a challenge for every other team in Champions Trophy as well. We always related to England as a very strong Test team.

But in the last two, three years, post that World Cup, they've really changed the way they play their cricket. I don't think they score anything less than 330 now, which I think moves the game pretty rapidly, but it is indeed a challenge for all the other sides that play against them.

So credit to them for shaping their short format cricket so well. And I'm sure they'll be eager to go a long way in this tournament as well.

Q. You've got a lot of fans over here. But perhaps they may not have seen the best of you personally. Do you feel like you've got a point to prove over here in English conditions or not?
VIRAT KOHLI: Not really. If you talk about the longer format of the game, this was one tour that I wasn't able to do well away from home. And that hurt me personally in a way that I wasn't able to contribute for the team. That could have been in India as well.

But because you want to succeed everywhere that you play, it motivates you even further to come back and do particularly well in those places you haven't done well.

But having said that, it's no sort of feeling of vengeance or anything like that. For me it's a game of cricket. I surely have evolved from then to now, mentally as a player, and my skill as well.

I like to take every game of cricket the same way regardless of where I play in the world. England obviously brings a lot of challenges as far as batting is concerned and those are challenges that I would certainly love to overcome. Personally for my growth as a batsman not for anything else, not to prove a point to anyone, but personally for my satisfaction at the end of my career, I would like to feel that, yes, I've done well everywhere that I played in the world. So just from that point of view it surely is exciting for me.

Q. Back on England, obviously you're full of praise there. Do you see any weaknesses at all in that 11?
VIRAT KOHLI: Not at the moment. Especially in their conditions, they're pretty strong. The only thing being, you know, when aside players in that manner for so long, when it doesn't click, it can go against you pretty quickly. But they have managed to sort of continue that mindset pretty well.

I don't see anyone taking a backward step at any stage in the game. That's pretty amazing, to see for the whole batting lineup to play like that, it's quite rare. You always have two or three guys playing through the innings, but with them it's all about attack throughout the 50 overs, which I think is quite exciting for the fans to see as well and for the opposition it's quite challenging also because you need to be on top of your game throughout to get past a team like that.

So the only downside I would say is when the batting order doesn't click, it can look pretty bad, but I don't think they've made it look bad at all. They've done pretty well.

Q. I know you're a famous guy all over the world, but obviously in India when you do well the praise is massive. And if you do badly, sometimes the criticism is massive as well. As a captain, when you're learning your way as a captain, is it quite relaxing in a way to be in a country where maybe the attention is a little less intense, maybe you feel you can express yourself a little bit more relaxed way being overseas in some way?
VIRAT KOHLI: Absolutely. There's so much attention on you back home that I love travelling away from home and playing in other countries around the world.

The first thing I actually felt like when I came was just to go out for a walk and have a coffee but I thought sleep might be better because of the hectic day forward.

But I love walking by myself, just being by myself, not having people around at all. It's refreshing in a way. You find out more about yourself so that provides you with that opportunity plus you get to do what you love; that is play the game.

So I love travelling away from home. I totally love just spending some normal time, which I'm not particularly able to do back home.

Q. You spoke about how England on (indiscernible) and that's the big change you've seen in India, coming to India you've mentioned the three things if you carry on doing, India should be good. Is there one thing you would like to change based on the last few series, ODI series, the Indian team should take on?
VIRAT KOHLI: From here?

Q. Yeah, one change going forward in the ODI team.
VIRAT KOHLI: Sorry, I didn't get the question properly.

Q. I mean, in terms of strategy, in terms of moving forward, I'm saying is there one thing you would like as a captain of the Indian team to kind of adopt?
VIRAT KOHLI: Playing here particularly, or in general?

Q. In general.
VIRAT KOHLI: I would say the one thing we needed to strengthen was our lower-middle order contribution. That I felt was -- too much burden was coming on MS in the past couple of years, was what we felt. He wasn't able to express himself purely because of the fact there are not enough guys showing composure to finish off games with him.

But having had Kedar and Hardik do so well in that particular phase of the innings, that's really strengthened our squad really well. And Hardik coming in provides that beautiful balance to us. That was one area we needed to strengthen.

I feel we're pretty balanced going forward. We're pretty balanced side. All the bowlers are bowling well. The batsmen are playing well. We've got depth in batting. We've got allrounders. We've got really good fast bowlers.

So that's one area we needed improvement on. And the series against England really sealed it for us. So we're in pretty good headspace going into this tournament.

As I said, we feel pretty balanced as a side. It's just about execution now. You might have the best side in the world. But if you don't execute it, there's no point having that skill. So I think in a tournament like this, it all boils down to how you execute on the day.

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Approved by Tim

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