Virat Kohli in his own words: I always wanted to be the best, says Indian captain — VIDEO

New Delhi: Indian captain Virat Kohli has already established himself as one of the greatest ever batsmen to have played cricket. His drive for perfection is unrivalled, and he enters every match as if he is playing his last game. That's probably why he always managed to push the envelop and astound everyone around him.

During the annual BCCI awards ceremony at Bengaluru on Wednesday, Kohli shared his thoughts on what makes him thrive in competition. Aged 28, he already has 43 centuries in international cricket, and his average is getting bigger with each passing innings.

Honoured with the Polly Umrigar award for BCCI's International Cricketer of the Year, Kohli matter of factly said that he always wanted to be one of the best players in the world. Who doesn't wasn't to be the best? But only few have the wherewithal, if we may, to achieve what they have set out to achieve. And Kolhi is one of those few.

"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 transition phase to be available in all three formats and take the country forward," Kohli said.

This is the third time he is getting the prestigious award – only one to have done so far.

Taking the opportunity, the right-handed batsman took a dig at his detractors, and said that he always believed in himself and his abilities.

"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 every day in my life I am answerable to no one."

But as a true leader, he didn't fail to credit his team-mates for all the success he and Team India have managed to achieved in the last couple of years.

"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.

After leading India to 19 unbeaten Test matches, he tasted defeat in the first match of the ongoing Australia series. But India produced a brilliant fight-back to level the series with a 75-run win in Bengaluru, a match which was marred by on-field bust-up between the two rival captains.

Kohli's many run-ins with his rivals is part of his attacking game, but as he has stated in the post match conference, the flambouyant captain believes that “there's a line that you don't cross on the cricket field.”