England head coach Brendon McCullum has said they are ready to handle Virat Kohli as the news of his potential return in the third Test of the ongoing five-match series is around the corner. He also rated Kohli as a great competitor and added that bowlers have to earn their success against him. However, Kohli had opted out of the first two Test matches for personal reasons and there remains uncertainty over his return in the third, beginning on February 15 in Rajkot as well.

Speaking to TalkSport, McCullum said: “Virat’s one of the greatest players of the game has seen. No doubt it improves this squad. As we have said throughout, the depth in Indian cricket, the talent in India is immense. If Virat is coming back… we hope everything is well with his family. We will look forward to that challenge too. He is a great competitor. I know him very well and I enjoyed playing against him, I enjoyed our team playing against him. And if you have success against the best, I am sure you have earned it.”

Brendon McCullum also praised the development of the young spinners in England’s squad as a massive plus and added that adaptability to conditions will be critical as well.

He said, as quoted by the BBC: “The development of the young spinners has been fantastic. Not just their skillset but their passion to want the big moments. The pitches in the first two Tests have been very different and they needed different styles of play. I’m sure the third Test will be different again. We’ve just got to be sure we’re adaptable.”