Virat Kohli has been India's main man for the last couple of years, by a mile, and with the weight of the nation on his shoulders, the India captain has delivered from the front. India, under his leadership, have flourished, but his biggest test will come when the team travels abroad.
India have a busy schedule for the next two years, and will be travelling a lot. They are set to face South Africa early next year, and playing away from home has always been a problem for India. They are also scheduled to play against Australia, New Zealand and England away in the next two years.
With India not having been consistent abroad, Kohli views such tours as an "opportunity".
India will be eager to change that record, and the skipper looks up to Roger Federer for that 'hunger' to win. The Swiss tennis great has won almost everything that is to be won in the tennis circuit, but it is his hunger for titles at 36, which inspires Kohli as well.
Kohli also stressed on the point of training hard, and he has been a master at that, inspiring others in the team to remain in perfect shape as well.
"It is an opportunity. Look at Roger Federer. 19 Grand Slams and the hunger is still the same. I am just one among 15 men in a billion who represents India. It will entail working hard, giving up on things that may stand in the way of excellence. But you need to be prepared for that. Train hard with a single-minded focus," the "Economic Times" quoted Kohli as saying.
India are enjoying a good run of wins, with a complete tour sweep of Sri Lanka. Kohli's team have defeated the island nation 3-0 in Tests, 5-0 (ODIs) and 1-0 (only T20). With this, they also managed to emulate Australia's 9-0 win over Pakistan in 2010 across all formats.
The Men in Blue will be keen to bring their A game when they face Australia in the upcoming ODI and T20 series as well. Though India might have home advantage, Australia have players with IPL experience, which can cancel such advantage.
India host Australia for the first ODI in Chennai on Sunday, September 17, but before that the Aussies will be seen in action on Tuesday, September 12, against Board President's XI.
