The omission of the Indian batsman Karun Nair from the Test squad for the Windies series provoked a lot of controversy among the fans and the pundits as well. However, on Wednesday, the Indian skipper Virat Kohli he is not the right person to comment on the team’s selection criteria.
During the pre-match press conference in Rajkot, Kohli said that selectors are doing their work on their own. He explained, “Selectors have already spoken about it and it is not my place to say. There are selectors doing their job. You can conveniently merge everything and make it a circle where everyone is doing their job and not focusing on what people are saying on the outside.”
Young @PrithviShaw is all set to make his Test debut tomorrow at Rajkot. How well does he time the ball? 🔥🔥👏👌 #TeamIndia #INDvWI pic.twitter.com/5LLvl7GKkQ
— BCCI (@BCCI) October 3, 2018
Nair was ignored by the selectors despite the fact that he didn’t get any chance to be in the playing XI and prove his worth during the 5-match Test series against England as he was with the team for the whole series. On the other hand, Hanuma Vihari, who was not a part of the squad for first three Tests in the England tour, was preferred over Nair to be included in the 5th Test, and also made it into the squad for the 2-match Test series against West Indies.
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Talking about the same, Virat said, “The chief selector has already spoken to the player of what I know. I don’t think I need to comment on that. Selection is not my job. As a team, we are doing what we are supposed to. Everyone should be aware of their respective jobs. People should also realise that it is not a joint thing everywhere. That is the confusion right now where people are combining everything and thinking everything is happening from one place which is not true.”
Kohli further went on to talk about India’s batting line-up and expressed the the the line-up has “enough space” to accommodate new top-order batsmen to cement their place. With the 18-year-old Prithvi Shaw set to make his Test debut for India against West Indies on Thursday, Kohli asserted that they are looking to give enough chances to the players to feel comfortable at that position. We want them to be confident of what they are doing.
When @mayankcricket had his first stint in the #TeamIndia nets at Rajkot #INDvWI
That sweet sound off the bat 😎👌👌🔊 pic.twitter.com/WEhO4aG7Rw— BCCI (@BCCI) October 2, 2018
Kohli further went on to add that India’s lower-order looks settled with the presence of R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja despite Rishabh Pant being fairly new to the team. He also feels that if India’s lower-order batsmen had chipped in with runs abroad, the results could have been different in South Africa and England. He said, “If you look at the sides which win Test matches, contribution at the top and contribution of the lower-order are more crucial than the contribution of the middle order. The reason England were better than us because their lower-order did well.”
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Captain @imVkohli looking on point on the eve of the 1st Test against West Indies #TeamIndia #INDvWI pic.twitter.com/JR65lonaac
— BCCI (@BCCI) October 3, 2018
The skipper further addressed the criticisms regarding his team making too much tinkering with the playing XI. He said most of the changes have done in the bowling department and hardly been a time when a bowler felt that he has been hard done by. The skipper justified that the motive was to pick the best eleven and they dropped a couple of basemen a few times who have not been in form.
Kohli was rested from the Asia Cup went on to talk about the extensive workload and said that he feels “rejuvenated” after the break. He explained, “I feel rejuvenated again both mentally and physically. People usually talk about workloads but they don’t usually understand the concept. There is no workload if you make zero in every game. If I bat for six hours that is workload. I definitely needed a break because of my back. Looking at the World Cup these things are very important to consider, to give players ample rest and opportunity to train well and come back stronger.”
The first Test between India and West Indies begin from October 4, 2018.
