Virat Kohli’s poor run in 2014 has been brought up so often that he visibly bristles when asked the question – again. Bristling won’t help, of course. He needs to score runs in the five Test matches in England, and says that he is ready for it.

“Back in the day, when I did not know better, these things used to bother me because I used to read a lot,” Kohli said on the eve of the first Test, starting in Edgbaston on Wednesday, August 1.

[caption id=”attachment_76844″ align=”alignnone” width=”800″]""="" width="768px" height="432px" srcset="" sizes="(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px"> “I need to be in the most convincing and the most clear mental space I can be”[/caption]

“If I waste my energy on all these things, I am compromising on my mindset already. Because when I walk out to bat, I have the bat in hand, not people on the outside who write and predict things. I need to be in the most convincing and the most clear mental space I can be. That happens when I am just focused on what I need to do.”

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Kohli has said before that his own performance doesn’t matter and he is happy as long as India win, and reiterated that: “I did not think 10 years ago – very soon I am going to complete 10 years – (I’d be) sitting here in my career. I have no complaints whatsoever. And I am not in a frame of mind to prove myself in any country. I just want to perform for the team. Obviously, I want to score runs for the team. And I am going to take Indian cricket forward.”

[caption id=”attachment_76846″ align=”alignnone” width=”800″] Favourites or underdogs?[/caption]

Some observers feel England are too formidable at home for India to entertain hopes of a series win, while supporters of the Indian team use the visitors’ No.1 ranking and England’s poor recent run in Test cricket as guns to fire with.

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“Whether you want to act as an underdog or favourite it is in your own head. You need professionalism more than feeling like an underdog or starting as a favourite. That is something we want to do as a team: We want to be consistent and professional,” said Kohli.

“If you’re an underdog, it’s not a given that the pressure will only be on the opposition; if you’re favourites, it’s not certain that the underdogs will be fearless the whole time. We’ve played enough cricket at this level to understand that these are things discussed on the outside. As a professional cricketer, you have to go out there and execute what you are picked for.”