ENG vs IND 2018: Not in the Frame of Mind to Prove Anything to Anybody - Virat Kohli

India skipper Virat Kohli, on Tuesday (July 31), made it clear that he is not going to be weighed down by the horror tour of 2014.

There is no denying the fact that all eyes will be on Virat Kohli when England and India resume their Test rivalry in the first game on Wednesday in Birmingham.

The buildup to the much-anticipated series has been dominated by how Kohli would fare in the testing conditions against James Anderson & Co.

The reason behind the same is his disastrous performance in England four years ago. In 2014, Kohli had arrived in England as one of the fastest rising youngsters. Not surprisingly, expectations were sky high from him.

However, Virat Kohli had failed miserably. He had scored only 134 runs from ten innings, as India lost the series 3-1. He scored 1, 8, 25, 0, 39, 28, 0, 7, 6 and 20 in the five Tests and finished the series with an average of 13.40.

The right-handed batsman was troubled mainly on the off stump line in England, as he ended up edging those deliveries behind the stumps.

Virat was caught behind the stumps on six occasions (once by the keeper and five times in the slip cordon).

James Anderson had made current India skipper his bunny, dismissing him four times in six innings.

However, Virat Kohli has come a long way since that disastrous tour. He is arguably the best batsman in the world right now and has already proved himself in Australia and South Africa.

During the tour of Australia in 2014-15, he had slammed four hundred in four Tests.

The India captain has since also scored six double hundreds including four in successive series. Against England in the five-Test series at home, Kohli scored 655 runs and led India to a 4-0 triumph. He was also in top form in South Africa, smashing 871 runs across formats. He was the leading run-scorer in the Test and ODI series.

Not surprisingly, the whole world is desperately waiting to see how Kohli fares in England this time around.

However, Virat Kohli is not thinking about proving himself. Speaking ahead of the series-opener, the India captain said he is not bothered at all.

“Back in the day when I did not know these things, they used to bother me. I genuinely do not read anything now,” Kohli told the media on the eve of the first Test.

“I had no idea what was going on after the first two Tests in South Africa. When I walk out to bat, I have the the bat in hand. I have to be focused on what I need to do.

“I did not think I would be sitting here ten years ago. Not in the frame of mind to prove anything to anybody,” he added.

The 29-year old further said he is just backing his ability to come good in the tough English conditions.

“You focus on what you need to do. You need to have total belief in your own ability. We need to keep working hard on that. It all boils down to belief.

“If you have belief, you can score hundreds on a green pitch as well. In the last three years, I have been pretty comfortable with my headspace,” he said.