India vs New Zealand: ‘Better to let the individual decide himself’ - Virat Kohli on what defines leadership

Team India skipper Virat Kohli came to the defence of his New Zealand counterpart Kane Williamson over the issue of leadership and captaincy when he said that a leader should not only be judged by the results, but people should also pay heed to the process he has been able to put into place. New Zealand were drubbed 0-3 in the Test series in Australia following which Williamson’s tactics were put under the scanner. “These kinds of things do come up every now and then, whenever you have a setback. I think its a part of having that responsibility of captaining in all three formats. One thing that I have done is I just focus on what I can do for the team and the vision that needs to be there to take the team forward,” Kohli said on the eve of the first T20I between India vs New Zealand.

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“I don’t think leadership can always be determined by the results. It’s also about how you can get the team together and get the guys functioning under you as well, which I think Kane has done wonderfully well,” he further added.

The Indian captain also said that Kane Williamson has the respect of his side as well as his team-mates and that one has to accept when the opposition is good.

“People get onto that side of things too early and sometimes I think it is better to let the individual decide himself. If you have given him the responsibility, I am sure he will decide whether he is good enough for the job any more or not as well,” he said.

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“He has the respect of his team-mates and he has the trust of his team-mates, is what I can see, and he’s also a very, very smart cricketer. If a team outplays you, you have to accept it as a collective failure, and not a lack of leadership or captaincy is what I think.” Kohli went on to add.