Virat Kohli: Getting married was much more important (than cricket)

Indian cricket team captain Virat Kohli who recently got married to Bollywood actress Anushka Sharma is ready for the upcoming South African tour.

After hosting a lavish wedding reception party for the who's who of the Indian celebrity circle in Delhi and Mumbai, Virat on Wednesday spoke about his preparations for the South African series which includes three Tests, six One-DayInternationals (ODI) and three Twenty20 Internationals.

Speaking to the media, Virat said, "You need to play cricket for a long period of time to win abroad. The hunger this time is the same. We want to do what we couldn’t the last time around,” said Kohli, hours before the team’s flight to South Africa.

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“Cricket is played with bat and ball. Conditions don’t matter. I have no doubt in the ability of the team. We are on the right track", he added.

When asked how difficult it would be for him to return to cricket post-marriage, Virat replied, "Not difficult at all, I was away for something (marriage) which is much more important. That is a period that will always remain special for both of us."

Before dropping out of limited-overs series against Sri Lanka to get married to longtime-girlfriend Anushka Sharma on December 11 in a private ceremony in Tuscany, Italy, Virat was seenplaying in his top form. He scored610 runs in the three-Test series against Sri Lanka before leaving for wedding break.

Also Watch: Timeline of Virat and Anushka's love story

He added,"Switching back to cricket is not difficult at all because it is in my blood like it is for every other team member and the team management as well, so getting back to professional front is not difficult at all."

Virat also spoke about his focus on cricket even though he was busy with wedding celebrations. He said,"I haven't done anything in the past three weeks. I have been training to get back to play in South Africa. Somewhere in your head you are always thinking about you have something important coming up, so subconsciously you are looking forward to it (South Africa tour). So, mentally I am very well prepared."

While Virat was on a break, Rohit Sharma led the team and led India to win bothODIs and T20s against Sri Lanka.

Virat with his bride Anushka is now headed to South Africafor a tough tour where India plays three Tests starting January 5.