India’s deputy skipper in Tests, Ajinkya Rahane attended a press-conference, in Kolkata ahead of India’s 3-match Test series opener. India had toured Sri Lanka earlier in 2017 and had won the three-match Test series 3-0, out of which two Tests were even won by innings.

During the media interaction, Rahane talked about a lot of things like his form, Team India plans and priorities, rotation policy and lots more. Here are some excerpts from the Press Conference:

Talking about the change of formats, Rahane said, “Everyone knows how to adapt to each format. I don’t think there will be any trouble. Everyone is professional and we had a good practice session yesterday. The first match is always important for the series for momentum. We will have practice sessions today and tomorrow so, the preparations are going pretty well.”

When asked about the whitewash in Sri Lanka, Jinx said, “This series is totally different from what we played in Sri Lanka. We know the conditions but we are not taking Sri Lanka lightly though we had a good series there. For us each and every series, every match is important. We are just focusing on this series right now. We just want to play our game instead of thinking about their strategies.”

During the practice session on Monday, Rahane was seen playing a lot of sweeps and reverse sweeps, explaining the same, he said, “It is important to improve your game day by day. I always think that if I improve one shot during the net session then I’ll be better off in the match. I am just practicing reverse sweeps, paddle sweeps as options. For me, it is important to give 100 percent in nets.”

When inquired about India’s plans for the upcoming tour of South Africa, Ajinkya replied, “South Africa will be completely different. If we want to be no 1 team, every series is important. We will think about South Africa when we go there. This is an important series for Sri Lanka as well and they have been preparing really well. So we won’t be taking them lightly.”

Speaking of him getting starts but not able to convert them into daddy hundreds, Rahane said, “I’m not too concerned about that. For me I have been batting very well. I got four fifties in a row in the One Day Series (against Australia). Yes I got out on 49 and 45 in the Ranji Trophy but for me, it was important to play as many balls as possible and practice for the Test runs. Sometimes even 40-50 is important for the team so, I am not too worried about scores.”

Ajinkya concluded by talking about the rotation policy and the pitch at the Eden Gardens, he said, “It is important to manage yourself as professional athlete. We focus on training sessions and recovery sessions. The team management is taking care of all these aspects. In future we are going to play many matches so recovery is very important. About the Eden Gardens wicket: We will have to wait for the match to get started. Still two days to go and I am not too sure of the wicket. You just have to wait for the match to start.”

Here is the video of the press conference: