WELLINGTON: Virat Kohli admitted on Wednesday that captaining India in all three cricketing formats was gruelling but insisted he was not yet ready to ease his leadership burden.

Speaking ahead of the opening Test against New Zealand in Wellington on Friday, Kohli, 31, said stepping back was on his mind, but not for a few years.

“It’s not a conversation to hide away from,” he told reporters. “It’s been about eight years now that I’ve been playing almost 300 days a year. “With the travelling, practice sessions and the intensity being right up there all the time, it does take a toll on you.”

Asked about fellow players who had dropped one or more forms of the game in order to extend their careers, Kohli replied: “I’m not in that space at the moment.

“Periodic breaks for me seem to work pretty OK,” he added.

“At a time when the body doesn’t respond as well, maybe at around 34, 35, you might have a different conversation, but for the next two or three years I have no issues.”

Kohli, who took over the Test captaincy in late 2014, said he wanted to ensure the Indian team was in a good place when he finally relaxed his grip on the reins.

“The team wants a lot of my contribution in the next two or three years, so that we can ease into another transition, which is what we faced about five or six years ago,” he said.

“The mindset is obviously on the larger picture and from that point of view, I am preparing myself for a rigorous three years.”

Published in Dawn, February 20th, 2020