"You don't sit back at end of your career and look at numbers" - Virat Kohli opens up on his century drought
Virat Kohli has no qualms over his century drought which has now entered its 16th month. On Friday, the Indian skipper remarked that he has never played for milestones in his career.
Kohli added that his focus is solely on winning games for his team, which is what he will recount with more fondness at the end of his career.
Virat Kohli last recorded an international hundred in November 2019, against Bangladesh in the pink-ball Test. His last ODI hundred is even further behind - August 2019 against West Indies.
Although the dearth of tons hasn't necessarily meant a dip in form, it's one of those streaks that can make even the best of the batsmen lose sleep.
However, Virat Kohli said he will continue to play the way he always has and put in his "120 percent" for the team regardless of how many tons he scores along the way.
"I never played for hundreds in my life. That's probably the reason why I ended up getting so many in such a little time because I never really focussed on them and I'll continue to play this way till the end of my career as well. It's all about contributing to the team's score. If the team doesn't win and then to get a three-figure mark means nothing to me. So along the way, if you get across a milestone, it's a nice thing to achieve. But you are not going to sit back at the end of your career and look at numbers. It's about how you play the game. That's more important to me and I'll continue to put in my 120 percent for my team whether it is with the bat or in the field," said Virat Kohli.
Virat Kohli's comments come against the backdrop of India's grueling 6-wicket defeat against England in the 2nd ODI. For the second time in the series, Kohli crossed the half-century mark rather easily but faltered soon after.
His innings of 66 (79) was cut short by Adil Rashid, with a leg-spinner that bounced a bit much and took the batsmen's edge to the wicketkeeper.
"We will try to bring our A-game day after tomorrow" - Virat Kohli
Looking ahead at the decider, to be played on March 28, Virat Kohli said his team will be optimistic and will look to bring out their A game to the field.
"Both teams will be optimisitic. We will come in here and try to take the game forward and people love watching that. So you have to be better than the opposition when top 2 sides are playing each other. It’s about whose better on the night and it has happened in the first 2 games. The T20I series’ last game was a decider as well. We will try to bring our A-game day after tomorrow," signed off Virat Kohli.