Virat Kohli won't be having the pressure alone of winning, opines Akshar Patel

India will be taking on New Zealand in the WTC final at Southampton.

While the Indian team is under quarantine for the upcoming tour of England which features the World Test Championship (WTC) final against New Zealand, followed by a five-match Test series against England, Indian spinner Akshar Patel has made it clear that the pressure of winning won’t just be on skipper Virat Kohli.

Recently there were talks about the pressure on skipper Kohli as he leads three different teams in three different formats.

“If you see this Indian cricket team, there is Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Ajnkya Rahane, and we have Rishabh Pant. The way these players have been in a rich vein of form lately, I don’t think Virat would be having the pressure alone,” Patel told India TV.

“Our team had won the Test series in Australia when Virat wasn’t there. During the England series, Kohli got out early in a few innings but then Pant and Washington Sundar came up and performed. Rohit scored a couple of centuries as well. The spinners have also started batting down the order,” he added.

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The left-arm spinner then talked about the importance of lower-order partnerships that saved India in Australia and will be vital in England as well.

“You see how Shardul Thakur and Sundar made a partnership in Australia. And when you bat in England, you don’t chase big totals like 400 or 500. The total is around 300 or 250. So, that’s where the lower-order partnerships are important,” the 27-year-old said.

Team India is scheduled to land in the UK on June 3 and after completing the mandatory quarantine, the team will be taking on Kane Williamson’s New Zealand in the final of inaugural edition of WTC at Southampton slated to begin from June 18.

(With India TV inputs)