Virat Kohli calls late of 2015 to the end of 2016 as 'breakthrough year' of his career

Kohli, who is the first Indian cricketer to receive the Umrigar award for the third time, admitted that the last 12 months have been a breakthrough period in his career.

Bengaluru: Indian Test skipper Virat Kohli was the cynosure of all eyes at the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) annual awards on Wednesday night as he was presented with the Polly Umrigar award.

The Delhi batsman, who is the first Indian cricketer to receive the Umrigar award for the third time, admitted that the last 12 months have been a breakthrough period in his career.

"I always wanted to be one of the top players in the world, so I understood what it would take to maintain my form in all three formats. I take the captaincy as an opportunity and not as a job. It's a responsibility that I need to do the right things, set the right examples and follow a certain path that the whole team believes in," said Kohli, who received the award in 2011-12 and then in 2014-15.

"The last 10-12 months have been quite unbelievable. As cricketers, you always have a breakthrough year, starting late of 2015 to probably the end of 2016, I could recall when I grow older as the breakthrough year in my career."

Kohli also thanked his team-mates, for their valuable contribution towards making India the top-ranked team in the world.

"It couldn't have been possible without the help of my teammates. Whenever we had a poor time, one of the champions in our side took the responsibility and stood up. That's why we are a champion team and are the No.1 Test team in the world."

"If we can win together, we should also learn to embrace the losses together."

After losing the first Test against Australia by 333 runs at Pune, Kohli led the team brillilant as the hosts bounced back with a series levelling win at Bengaluru.

The two teams will now lock horns in the third Test, starting from March 16 in Ranchi.