Ready to lead a young side, says confident Virat Kohli

New Delhi: After leading Indian cricket team to a One-Day International series whitewash against the touring Sri Lankan side, stand-in skipper Virat Kohli said he is ready to lead a young side. He also said that, if a captain is lazy, it will look stupid.

“If I ask the guys to be ruthless while being lazy myself, I’ll look stupid at the end of the day. Especially in a young team, the guys who are experienced have to lead the way. In a team, negativity can spread really quickly. You see two heads falling and six more will fall,” BCCI’s official website quoted Kohli.

The 26-year-old batting sensation led by example scoring 22, 49, 53, 66 and an unbeaten 139 in the five innings. The young Indian side thumped an experienced Lankan side which had the likes of Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene, Tillekaratne Dilshan and Angelo Mathews.

Talking about the new-found winning attitude, he reaffirmed, “From the first match I have spoken about creating a culture of ruthlessness and winning habit in the team, and it has come off beautifully.”

He also hailed the match winning performances the team members.

“The more the young guys see this kind of performances, and know that the intent and aggression is coming from the top, they would want to follow. So, I, as the captain of the team, need to be at that intensity level first before asking anyone else to be there. It’s a conscious effort I have to make, and it’s not that hard for me because I have always played my cricket like that,” he added.

Kohli stood for unfit Mahendra Singh Dhoni in the recent One-Day International series against the Lankans and have earned praise from all corners for his motivating and astute leadership. He himself climbed to second in the latest International Cricket Council (ICC) One-Day International (ODI) rankings for batsmen, behind South African AB de Villiers, while the Indian team consolidated their No.1 ranking.