Internet Desk: India will be playing their first ODI of thr 5 match series against hosts Sri Lanka at Dambulla tomorrow. The visitors had previously thrashed the Lankans by 3-0 thereby achieving a whitewash in foreign soil. In a pre match conference this is what Indian skipper Virat Kohli shares his views.
“Yeah its quite special. When we arrived here yesterday a lot of memories came back. It was coincidentally the same chair I sat on nine years ago when I first played for india. so very happy memories from this place. First time I ever opened in professional cricket was for india. I had never done something like that. Quite adventurous first couple of games for me, but yeah good to remember nine years down the line, same date, same month, same stadium, so it couldn’t have been more special for me. So that’s why I thought the picture had to be put out there” said a nostalgic Kohli.
One being qestioned about who will br batting at the no 4, Kohli said,”See we feel that KL obviously is such a solid player and before injury he had done well in all three formats. It was unfortunate that he missed out and then Manish got chances. Look KL will definitely be playing in the middle order.Someone like Manish, he has done well and he has grabbed his opportunities, he has got a hundred in Australia well, we know about his talent and what he brings onto the field as well, superfit guy, has a bright future ahead of him, so he will certainly be backed. All three guys will have to compete for two spots in the middle order. There are no guarantees I would say, as long as there is healthy competition, everyone will keep pushing each other and that is only healthy for indian cricket.
All the Indian players as well the skipper himself is an avid explored and it has been evident from the places that they had visited.
“After the last test we got a good break, so in kandy we went out and about for a bit, so yeah I got to see a bit of Sri Lanka. I havent explored Dambulla that much maybe next when I come I will plan things before and maybe visit a bit more.”
It has often been claimed that Ajinkya Rahane has always been under pressure and to it Kohli said,”I am sure there is always pressure on every player that plays, but more so on someone like Jinks when he goes out to bat in the shorter formats. I think any format if you have any kind of desperation or urge to cement your place or perform, so as to say, there is always going to be a bit of pressure on you.He continued his form in the Test series and won you two Test matches with that bat. So, he is an impact player, and Shikhar and Rohit, we know what they have done in the past together. We understand their potential also. Jinks understands that at this stage he is the third opener in the team, we certainly back him because he has been shifted around a bit in the batting order which is not healthy for a guy who likes to open in the shorter format. See, he grabbed his opportunities in the West Indies and he was man of the series and he continues to be in the set up. When you get a larger number of chances, and that depends upon players form and all those sorts of things, you have to keep everything in mind. I think he is much more relaxed after that West Indies series… Yes he felt the pressure before but he has overcome that now. He is enjoying his cricket.
On being asked about developing the core group for the World Cup Kohli said,”The core has always been good. We have players who have the ability to strike at 200, same players have the ability to play for 35 overs for you in a one-day game. It all depends on what you decide to do as a team and then move forward in that direction. Everyone is ready to take those challenges up, they’re ready to embrace them, and that I think is the most exciting part. If we can embrace trying out a few difficult things and being uncomfortable, then it’ll help our cricket grow even further. If you see the way we’re playing Test cricket right now, we’re almost getting 400 in a day, which we haven’t done on many occasions but everyone is embracing playing positive cricket so it’s rubbing off on each other and we’re getting more belief that ‘yes, we can do it’. So it takes a bit of time but as long as people are willing to do it, it’ll make all the difference. But yes, definitely we believe in our core group that is the only way you can reach finals of a big tournament and be consistent as an ODI side. But if you want to be world beaters and win everywhere in the world, you need to do certain things that are out of the box as well. So we’re all ready to embrace that”.