On the eve of the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) 2021 final against New Zealand, India skipper Virat Kohli said his team became more determined after the points system of the competition was changed midway due to COVID-19 pandemic.
See Also: First look unveiled of the Southampton pitch for WTC final
In the inaugural edition of WTC, each series had 120 points up for grabs. The number of points for each Test was equal to 120 divided by the total number of matches in the series.
However, the event got ruined by the global COVID-19 outbreak, resulting in indefinite suspension of quite a few bilateral series. Consequently, the governing body adopted a percentage-based points model in order to keep the tournament on track.
"... 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," Kohli said during the virtual press conference on Thursday (June 17).
"There was no room for complacency, if we had qualified earlier maybe we would have relaxed a little-bit.
"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 outside."
Team India had to win the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2020-21 Down Under and then beat England at home to seal a place in the WTC final.
"Was it supposed to be a topsy-turvy ride to be honest?," the India captain asked.
"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."
When asked about the changes he would like to see in the next WTC cycle, Kohli replied: "Firstly, not for the rules to change overnight. That will be helpful if there is more clarity around what's happening and which direction we are heading into. Also, for teams who haven't played the series for some reason, to have some kind of ruling as to what happens after."
ICC had introduced WTC in 2019 to provide greater context to the longest format of the game and Kohli said it has been a "very positive step in the right direction."
"...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."
(With PTI inputs)
