On the eve of his side's opening World T20 match against New Zealand, Indian batting mainstay Virat Kohli on Monday called on his side to remain calm and take the learning from the past in order to clinch the coveted title for a second time.
"The key is to learn from the past, where calmness is required in the big tournaments like the ICC events because you can get sought of carried away, over anxious, or over excited and both those feelings are not great for any side going into the big tournament. So the learning we have from these big events in the past is just to stay as calm as possible and focus on the skills that needed to be executed on the field,"the vice-skipper told the media here.
The 27-year-old said that his side were feeling pretty confident at the moment, adding that they were taking some good momentum from their recent wins into the World T20.
"Well we are pretty confident with the way we have been playing. We won ten out of our last 11 games. We are taking some good momentum into the World Cup. The Asia Cup was a good preparation for us. But this is going to be far more challenging as you have the teams from all over the world competing. If you look at both the groups, the teams are very strong and evenly matched," he added.
Admitting that it would not be easy to play in the World T20, Kohli said that the Mahendra Singh Dhoni-led side would only focus on backing their strengths rather than thinking about whom they would compete with.
"It's going to be tough but we will focus on our strengths," said Kohli.
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"The opposition does not matter for us so much. At this stage we need to understand the strengths and weaknesses of the opposition players. But it is more to do with the play we have played and continue with the same way."
Kohli vowed that he along with openers Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma would try their best to provide the initial thrust to the side in order to make it easy for the middle orders to chase the target.
"I think it is very important to be aware of every ball. That's something all three of us have been able to do collectively well in the past few series. Obviously it will be an added responsibility to continue the same as I said the middle order have not got too much of the opportunity. So it's our responsibility to get that momentum going and set up that base for the team," Kohli insisted.
The right-handed batsman also expressed his views on fast bowler Mohammad Shami's return after recovering from the hamstring injury.
Kohli, who was delighted by Shami's return, said that the bowler was looking good at the moment and seemed to have got the needed rhythm before the match.
"When he was playing regularly for the team, he has done really well for us. We were all waiting for him to get fit and comeback in the finest rhythm. He has done that, he made a comeback. He is finding his rhythm. He has bowled well in the warm up games. He is looking good. He will only get stronger and stronger. It is glad to have him back in the squad. Having him back and getting it stronger for the Indian cricket team is a very good sign," said Kohli.
India will head into the tournament as the number-one ranked team when they will take on New Zealand in their opening match here at Vidarbha Cricket Stadium.