With the inclusion of some new blood to the batting unit, India skipper Virat Kohli expects his team to play much more freely in the five-match T20I series against England, starting Friday (March 12).
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While the likes of Suryakumar Yadav, Ishan Kishan and Rahul Tewatia have earned their maiden call-ups to India’s T20I squad, in-form wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant has made a comeback.
"We have played with a certain kind of pattern in the past. We did not have a big tournament to work towards in the past. If you look the squad, the additions we have made we have tried to address a few things we needed in specific," Kohli said on the eve of the first T20I against England.
"Guys who can be 'x factors' with the bat and do things which are the need of the hour in T20 cricket. These guys have done so on a regular basis in the IPL so we have tried to cover all those basis. Now it will be interesting to see how they go about in these five games."
Having not had enough options in the past, the Indian captain is pleased with what he has at his disposal now.
"These are the only five games we have as a team before the World Cup and we want to see how these guys fare in the middle. I feel the squad right now we have barring Jaddu, who will come back whenever fit, is the most balanced in terms of the options available to take the field as and when required."
The Indian team has often come under the scanner for playing one-dimensional cricket in the shortest format. According to Kohli, that should change now.
"The players have added in the squad is precisely to give our batting more depth and not play in a similar kind of pattern we have played with in the past. We want to be a side that plays free cricket, not having any baggage of lack of depth or one guy having to bat long enough to make sure we get to a big total.
"We have explosive guys in the team who can change the game at any stage and that is exactly what we have tried to address.
"This time around you will see guys playing more freely, more expressive in terms of approaching the innings even after we have lost couple of wickets which wasn't the case to be honest because we did not have enough depth in the batting to play freely for about 10 to 12 overs but I see much more positivity from this series onwards," he remarked.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar is set to make a comeback during the T20I series against England after an extended injury lay-off. The 31-year-old pacer had sustained a thigh muscle injury during the IPL 2020, which didn’t only rule him out of the T20 tournament but also from the Australia tour.
"Bhuvi is shaping up really nice. He is a smart operator like we have seen in the past. He has clear understanding what he wants to do and is one of our most experienced T20 bowlers. He is the guy you can bank on, so glad to have him back," Kohli said.
(With PTI inputs)
