India captain Virat Kohli has said that they have become more hungry and determined for the inaugural World Test Championship ever since the points system changed midway owing to the COVID-19 pandemic. Notably, the ICC has changed the qualification rule from maximum points earned to percentage points earned as there were several series that got cancelled due to the pandemic.
“… that gave us more determination and more clarity as to where we want to go and what we want to achieve, so looking back now, probably was a good thing that happened,” Virat Kohli said during the virtual press conference on eve of the World Test Championship final against New Zealand. “There was no room for complacency, if we had qualified earlier maybe we would have relaxed a little-bit.”
He continued: “But the situation allowed us to be more hungry and be more determined and know exactly what was going on at that moment and use that as a fueling bracket and motivation to keep moving forward regardless of whatever was going on in the outside.”
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Notably, India registered a convincing 2-1 win over Australia Down Under and then a 3-1 series victory against England at home in a four-match Test series earlier this year as well.
“When you are sitting at home and the rules change suddenly, you get confused as to what happened, without anyone’s control we did not miss or choose to miss any series through the course of this World Test Championship apart from the scheduling that wasn’t done at all. We pretty much played everything that was presented to us and ya in our minds we had qualified way before things got complicated anyway,” Virat Kohli again shared.
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However, the captain further added that the WTC has been a “very positive step in the right direction” as it gives the priority to the longer format as well. “…because you understand every series you are playing and competing for something and there is no room for complacency, there is no room for just playing out an easy draw. If you can go for the points, you will. It is a step in the right direction for Test cricket,” Virat Kohli concluded.
