New Delhi: His meticulous build-up plan was thrown haywire by injury but fit-again Indian cricket captain Virat Kohli said here Friday that 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 we haven’t been to England to play cricket in the last four years. You forget what conditions were when you played last time,” Kohli said in a press conference ahead of team’s departure for UK, Friday night.
“I would have gone there feeling 90 per cent rather than the 110 per cent that I feel right now. 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 said critics have ‘held on’ to the 2014 tour for far ‘too long’. He expressed displeasure to the repeated reference of the 2014 tour.
“I think 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 played in Bangladesh,” the sarcasm wasn’t lost on anyone.
Strategy will remain the same as it has been in all the tours. And that is to win, to do well as a team. That is the primary goal
Virat Kohli
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 know when I am in the good zone I play well. I know what I have to face out there in the middle.”
The skipper made it clear that he is available for the first T20 against Ireland in Dublin, June 27. “I went through a fitness test, the body is feeling fine. The neck is okay. Actually I am ready to get back to the field which is a very rare thing when you play so much cricket. This kind of break makes you excited to go back to field again,” Kohli pointed out.