India’s bowling coach Bharat Arun took a dig at the Sri Lankan players, stating that home team skipper Virat Kohli did not require the anti-pollution mask to bat for nearly two days in the third Test here.
Kohli played his career-best innings of 243 and he was the last home side batsman dismissed on a controversy-spoiled Day 2 when Sri Lankan players forced an Indian declaration by stopping play for 26 minutes, indicating uneasiness due to poor air quality caused by smog.
Criticising the visitors for the same, Arun said, “Virat batted close to two days. He did not need a mask. We are focused on what we need to do. The conditions are the same for both teams and we are not too bothered about it. His absolute focus is one thing and attention to detail is the key. In terms of fitness and game preparation, he is spot on. He is an example of what you need to be as a cricketer.”
Talking about the forced declaration, Arun said, “We were looking at a total of 550. It was pretty close to that. So we thought we might as well declare.”
After Sri Lanka’s unethical tactics, India’s head coach Ravi Shastri was seen getting onto the field to have a chat with the umpires. Explaining the same, Arun said: “Ravi’s take was pretty simple. He said ‘please get on with the game, you don’t need to stop. You take a decision and just get on with the game.”
He further said, “I think the umpires and the match referee have a job on h nd and it’s not up to the players to go and protest. They know what they are doing. When the play was unnecessarily being stopped, we just wanted to get on with the game because our focus is to win this Test match.”
Indian bowling coach also clarified that last thing India team is concerned about is the pollution, he said, “I think pollution is everywhere in our country. These pollution levels are serious in our country. I don’t think we were too worried about pollution. The BCCI scheduled this matches and our job is to get the best out of our team. Focus is more on that.”
When asked about if the frequent breaks broke the rhythm of Kohli, Arun said, “They wanted to probably stress upon the pollution part and our focus was totally different. It could have broken his (Kohli) rhythm. Yes, but at that point, we had to move on and Ravi had to go into the field and tell the umpires to get on with the game.”
Team India was clearly frustrated with the Sri Lankan tactics which were evident when someone quizzed if he felt pity for Sri Lankan fast bowlers, as he was a fast bowler himself. Talking about the same, Arun said, “We are focused on what we have to do and what we need to do to win the Test match. I don’t think we need to be thinking about what the opposition does. It’s their outlook. It’s their problem to keep their bowlers fit.”
