Kohli makes a valid point on scheduling of series

Kohli
Indian captain Virat Kohli on Thursday complained about the tight scheduling of series. Image Source: twitter

Internet Desk: Indian captain Virat Kohli on Thursday did not hide his frustration about the tight scheduling of series. Kohli took an indirect dig at the BCCI stating the team will have no time whatsoever to prepare for the tough series against South Africa. The skipper said that the need for bouncy tracks in for the Sri Lanka series was essentially as a substitute for practice for the tour, beginning two days after this series.

“We did request for such conditions, because unfortunately we get only two days before we fly to South Africa after this series gets over. So we have no choice but to be in game situation and think of what’s coming ahead of us,” said Kohli in the pre match press conference at Jamtha.

He added, “We very easily assess the team when we go abroad but we don’t look at how many days we have got to prepare before we go to a particular place to play. And everyone starts judging players when results come after Test matches. It should be a fair game where we get to prepare the way we want to and then we are entitled to be criticized. So we thought this is an ample opportunity for us to challenge ourselves, put us in a situation… As I said, we want to embrace being in difficult conditions.”

The Indian team embarks on a gruelling tour to South Africa on December 28, just 4 days after the series against Sri Lanka gets over. The Indian team will play their final T20I on December 24.

“Had we got a month off ideally, we would have done a proper preparation in a camp sort of scenario but we have to sort of make do with what we have.” The Indian team will finish their limited overs engagement against the islanders on December 24 (final T20) before they fly off to South Africa on December 27.

Kohli also made it clear that he couldn’t guarantee permanent first XI slots for Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja when the team travels to South Africa, where in all probability, a single spinner will be in operation.

“I can’t commit to that 100 per cent when we play abroad that we will be playing with two spinners, to be honest. It is because we need to have a look at the balance of the side as well. Obviously, those two guys with their batting abilities are both contenders to start a Test match depending upon the batsmen we are up against in the opposition.