India skipper Virat Kohli won the Polly Umrigar award for Board of Control for Cricket in India’s (BCCI) International Cricketer of the Year at the board’s annual awards on Wednesday. Kohli became the first Indian to win the award thrice and acknowledged the fact that he has always wanted to be the best in the business.
“I always wanted to be one of the top players in the world for sure. So I understood what it would take for me to maintain my form in all three formats. It is very important in the transition phase to be available in all three formats and take the country forward,” Kohli said.
Kohli also said that they were people who doubted him down but backed his abilities to take him through. “All along in my career, there were many people who had doubted the way I have gone about my game. Even now there are doubters and haters all around, but one thing is for sure that I have always believed in myself,” he said. “I always believed in my heart that if I work 120 per cent everyday in my life I am answerable to no one.”
Kohli said that 2016 could be termed as a breakthrough year in his career and thanked his teammates for supporting him throughout.
“It is been quite unbelievable in the last 10 to 12 months. As cricketers you always have a breakthrough year for everyone. Starting late 2015 to the end of 2016, probably I could term is as the breakthrough year in my career. All the hard work, all the training on a daily basis, all the sacrifices, came together nicely. It could not have been possible without the help of the teammates throughout,” he said. “At times you don’t do well but when the champion players in your side step up and everyone delivers what when you start producing results.”
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