“Blame it on the attitude…we weren’t brave enough to face them”: Virat Kohli

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• Nov 1, 2021 | moderator

Dubai: After the distressing loss to the Kiwis at the T20 Worldcup, Indian cricket team captain Virat Kohli blamed it on the team’s attitude. “I don’t think we were brave enough with bat or ball. Every time we took a chance, we lost a wicket. It’s most often a result of hesitation of whether you should go for a shot or not… Didn’t have much to defend but we weren’t brave when we walked out to the field,” he said after the match.

A team with a skipper, who personifies boldness, succumbed to timidity. Kohli admitted as much when he said: “When you play for India, there are loads of expectations. We are watched, people come to the stadium and everyone who plays for India needs to embrace that and cope with it. We haven’t done that in these two games, and that’s why we haven’t won.”

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Kohli also suggested that India did not embrace the pressure and suffered because of it in the first two games of the mega-event. 

He said, "We are watched, people come to the stadium and everyone who plays for India needs to embrace that and cope with it. We haven't done that in these two games, and that's why we haven't won. We have to be optimistic and positive and take calculated risks."

However, the Indian captain retained hopes that there is still a chance for them to progress to the semi-final with a lot of cricket still left to be played. 

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"We have to disconnect from the pressure and continue with our process, and play a positive brand of cricket. There's a lot of cricket to play in the tournament," said Kohli. 

The Men in Blue were beaten by 8 wickets in what was described as a 'virtual quarter-final' going into the game. India will need a miracle to progress to the semi-final with a poor net-run rate weighing their chances down. 

Kohli's men next face Afghanistan on Wednesday at Abu Dhabi. India has now three matches to play in order to retain its position in the sporting event. If India loses another match, then it will be inevitable for them to bounce back.