Indian captain Virat Kohli on Thursday (December 2) opened up about why he practiced at the Cricket Club of India's (CCI) Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai for the Test series against New Zealand despite being on a break.
Kohli had taken a short break from the game after spending six months in bio-bubbles, opting out of the three-match T20I series as well as the first Test against New Zealand in Kanpur.
However, during his break, the Indian skipper was seen practicing at the Cricket Club of India (CCI) before returning to national duty for the second and final Test against New Zealand, starting on December 3, Friday, at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.
Well, ahead of the final Test in Mumbai, the dashing right-hander said he practiced at the CCI to get into the mold of switching between formats and get repetition and volume as he was to play Test cricket after a long time, having been involved in T20 cricket during IPL 2021 and T20 World Cup 2021.
Kohli said during a virtual press conference: “It was just to stay in the rhythm of playing red-ball cricket. The idea was to get repetition and volume which is important in Test cricket, so it is just about getting into the mold of switching between formats. This is something I have always tried to do.”
The skipper further added, “Whenever I get the opportunity to work on setting up for different formats, it is more so mentally than anything related to technique. The more cricket you play, the more you understand your game better. It is about getting into the mindset, that headspace where you want to play a certain way in a certain format.”
His return has left a selection dilemma for Team India and Kohli also admitted the same but said that the team’s best interest is their priority while insisting they will back his players who have done the job for the team in the last 5–6 years, referring to the poor form of Ajinkya Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara.
Shreyas Iyer made a memorable debut in Test cricket, becoming the first Indian debutant to score a century and a half-century on his debut, and dropping him would be a little difficult for the management, especially when the two senior batters, Rahane and Pujara, are struggling to find form.
Reacting to the same, the Indian skipper noted: “You have to understand the situation of where the team is placed; you have to understand where individuals stand. You have to communicate well, speak to the individuals and approach them in a way, explain things clearly.”
Kohli further explained, “We have made changes in the past looking at combination, we have explained to individuals and they have understood our mindset behind going in with a certain combination. It is not a difficult thing to do, there is collective trust and belief within the group. Along the way, there are ups and downs, but we understand that as sportspersons.”
He signed off by saying, “At the end of the day, we all prioritize the team first and this is something we have done consistently. As a Test team, we have backed the set of players who have done the job for the team in the last 5-6 years and we will continue to do that. There have always been players on who we have relied upon and they have done the job for the team.”
(With ANI Inputs)
