All Team Players Are Playing Their First Test At Headingley, Says Virat Kohli

Team India captain Virat Kohli on Tuesday mentioned that all of his team players will be playing their first Test at Headingley Cricket Ground in Leeds when they face England in the third Test on Wednesday.

The fact that Headingley was never a part of the Test series when India toured England in 2011, 2014 and 2018, which will make each of the player to play their first game on the given venue.

For us, it is just a Test match to be played against England: Virat Kohli

Kohli said his team will play with full focus and energy irrespective of where they play and they want to play their best Test against England.

“We haven’t played Test cricket here. If I am not wrong, I don’t quite recollect all the games at venues, but all of us are playing Test cricket for the first time here,” Kohli said in a virtual press conference ahead of the third Test.

“Look, I am not an individual who likes to attach too much importance to things that are on the outside. For us, it is just a Test match to be played against England. Be it any stadium, anywhere in the world, in India, or in England.

“So we just need to do what we need to do as a team. What’s happened here, what hasn’t is something that we are not focused on at all. Because all our energy is just focused on what we want to do as a team over the next five days,” he added.

History doesn’t guarantee you anything: Virat Kohli

On Tuesday, the Indian cricket team completed its 50th anniversary of their 1971 Test series win against England by 1-0, it was the first time India won in England. The team had the likes of Ajit Wadekar (then captain), Dilip Sardesai, and Bhagwath Chandrasekhar performing their best in those three Tests to bring glory to the nation.

The current Indian team is deemed to win the series after their massive victory in Lord’s and repeat the history but Kohli feels that history doesn’t guarantee them anything and his team is not chasing anything.

“Honestly, I don’t think much about history. For us, what matters as a team is that wherever we play in the world, what matters are the decisions that we take at that moment. We don’t want to chase anything, or remember anything,” said Kohli to the media in a bid to keep his focus on the ongoing series,” Kohli said.

“History doesn’t guarantee you anything. If you haven’t won anything anywhere, you can’t guarantee that you will not win there. And if you have won anywhere, there is no guarantee that you won’t lose,” he added.

India are currently leading 1-0 in the five-match series after the impeccable 151-run win at Lord’s in the second Test.

Also Read: We Were Absolutely Confident We Would Win Nottingham Test, Says Virat Kohli