Speaking on the eve of the fourth Test against England in Ahmedabad, India captain Virat Kohli said the World Test Championship (WTC) is a distraction for them as the team is already motivated enough to play Test cricket or any other form of the game.
India registered a comprehensive 10-wicket win over England in the third Test and took the 2-1 lead in the series. Now, India needs to win the fourth Test or draw it to qualify for the final of the WTC where they will face New Zealand at Lords on June 18.
"To be brutally honest it (WTC) might work for teams that are not motivated enough to play Test cricket. Teams like us who are motivated to play Test cricket and want to win Test matches and keep the Indian cricket team at the top of the world in Test cricket we have no issues whatsoever whether it is WTC or not," Kohli said in a virtual press conference.
"I think for teams like us, it is just a distraction when you start thinking of WTC. Eventually, it is only a game of cricket. World Cup final, semifinal anything you take it is the game of cricket at the end of the day. And if you are not motivated to play a normal game of cricket and extra motivated to play a game of cricket which has some incentive to it for me, as an individual that is unacceptable.
IND v ENG 2021: “Always too much noise and conversation about spinning tracks”, says Virat Kohli
We as a team have never played with that mindset. For us any game is important, we are going to go for result whenever an opportunity presents itself that's why people want to watch us as a team now," he added.
England is already out of contention for the final of the WTC, but if they manage to win the final Test, they might eliminate India as well, helping Australia go through.
Virat Kohli was also asked about the situation with Kuldeep Yadav, who was dropped for the third Test in Ahmedabad, after playing his first Test after three years in Chennai.
"There is no issue with skill, there is no issue with headspace. His game is absolutely precise, bowling better than he has ever bowled before. We need to make sure that we cover all facets of the game, we have our strongest balanced squad on the park,” Kohli said.
He further said that playing Washington Sundar helps them bring more balance to the side, given his batting skills.
“See if Jadeja is playing and you are talking about the third spinner then Kuldeep comes into the picture way more because of Jadeja's experience with the bat and the number of times he has done the job for the team. Right now, we are going in with Ashwin. Washi is playing, Akshar is playing. Washi has scored few runs so yes they can contribute with the bat, but it is not the same experience as Jadeja,” he added.
"So, the combination becomes very different when Jadeja comes. You can play Kuldeep who is primarily a wrist spinning bowler but it's all about the combinations. He will always be in consideration to play whatever game is in front of us purely because of his skill with the ball," he added.
(ANI inputs)
