On Friday, the Indian skipper, Viray Kohli expressed hope to emulate what MS Dhoni did way back in 2007. Virat said that he would be honored to become only the second Indian skipper to lift the T20 World Cup trophy. India won the inaugural edition of the T20 World Cup — what was then called World T20 — in 2007 under MS Dhoni.

In 2007, Dhoni had led a young Indian team to a title victory, but since then five editions have gone by and India has never managed to win the trophy, with the last disappointment coming in India in 2016. Last time, Kohli, despite winning the player of the tournament trophy in the last edition, couldn’t help his side lift the trophy but hopes to change things this time around.

As per the quotes in icc-cricket.com, Kohli said, “India won the inaugural T20 World Cup in 2007 when the format was new and the future a bit unknown. Since then, T20 cricket has truly come of age and it would be an honor to be the second Indian captain to lift the T20 World Cup trophy, and hopefully the third if the Indian women can win it earlier in 2020.”

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The T20 World Cup, which was initially played every two years, is scheduled to be taking place in Australia next year. The tournament is scheduled to start on October 18, 2020 — exactly one year from now — and the ICC launched a special campaign to mark the occasion.

Despite playing away from home, Kohli expects the crowd to come out in large numbers and support the team like they have done in the past every time they play there.

Kohli said, “We receive such incredible support when we play in Australia, with stadiums often packed with a sea of blue shirts. I hope to see more of that when we come back to Australia next year.”

Since the last edition, Team India has witnessed several changes, with many senior players not part of the side. However, Virat is not focusing on all of that as he is confident that the young players will be “really motivated” to make their case strong by putting their best foot forward when they get selected for T20I matches.

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Kohli further elaborated, “The T20 World Cup in 2020 is a big focus for us, and it’s important that we use the next 12 months to place ourselves in the best possible position to compete for another major ICC trophy. Our players will be really motivated to take their opportunities when they get selected for T20I matches to put themselves forward for the T20 World Cup, as we want to have a settled team combination by the time we get to Australia.”