Indian skipper Virat Kohli has praised the grit of Sri Lankan wicketkeeper-batsman Niroshan Dickwella, who acknowledged the time-wasting tactics in the drawn first Test in Kolkata.

Dikckwella was involved in a few altercations with Kohli and the Indian cricketers and acknowledged that his tactics were in a bid to get under the skin of the Indian players.

During a press conference in Nagpur on Thursday, Kohli said, “I like to see that character. I liked that competitiveness on the field. He is someone who takes lot of pride in his cricket. I am impressed with what I have seen so far of him from the last series as well. He has got great ability to do something very special for Sri Lankan cricket.”

Having set Sri Lanka a doubtful target of 231 runs in 47 overs, India came with all guns blazing when Sri Lanka were 22 for four in the final session. In fading light, time played a crucial role, but Dickwella consumed quite a bit of time with his tactics of forcing the umpires to intervene.

Virat went on to say that even he would have adopted similar tactics in order to win and that the players had moved on after the incident. He said, “In the heat of things, I will do anything for my team to win. Afterwards, everything was normal. We had a chat on the flight as well. Those things end on the field. When you are competing as an opponent we always respect that about any opponent. He is a very feisty character and that works for his game. Credit for him for maintaining that and I am sure he will do many good things for Sri Lankan cricket.”

Dickwella’s antics earned praise from some pundits as well although the team management was a bit nervous as he needs just one demerit point to receive a four-match suspension. Team India was just 3 wickets away from a famous win as Sri Lanka slumped to 75 for 7. Dickwella top scored with 27 runs, but more importantly consumed quite a bit of time. He said, “I guess they lost about two or three overs.”

Recently, youngster Vijay Shankar has been included as a backup all-rounder with same skill sets like Hardik Pandya for tough overseas assignments, skipper Virat Kohli said on Thursday.Virat said, “Well, he (Shankar) has been very consistent and has earned his spot. We wanted to have a look at another all-rounder keeping in mind this aspect ( a batsman who bowls medium pace) of the team going forward.“

He further added, “Obviously, Hardik is in our scheme of things as first all rounder but we need to find out more people with that kind of ability whom we can groom and make as back ups for all- rounder’s spot when we travel abroad.”

Kohli also mentioned that the team is “as usual, cramped for time” between two series. He said, “Unfortunately we get only two days before we fly to South Africa after this series gets over. So we have no choice than to be in the game situation and think of what’s coming ahead for us. Had we got a month off, ideally, we would have done proper preparation in a camp sort of scenario. But we have to make do with what we have.”

India prepared a green-top for the first Test against Sri Lanka at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata. Despite the first two days badly hit by rain, the pitch almost produced a result with Sri Lankan batting collapse in the fourth innings slipping to 75/7 before bad light ensured a draw. Talking about the same, Virat said, “I thought this (SL Tests) was an ample opportunity to challenge ourselves and put us in a situation where we want to, as I said, embrace being in difficult conditions. I am not saying that everyone will go out and perform immediately, but if we can feel comfortable about it after one innings, two innings or three innings, someone will come good and then you build on that confidence. Same for the bowlers as well.”

Talking about the team combination for the South African tour, Kohli said, “I can’t commit to that 100 percent when we play abroad that we will be playing with two spinners, to be honest. Obviously, those two guys with their batting abilities are both contenders to start a Test match abroad. it’s very important to understand if the left-arm spinner is bowling to five right-handers or the offspinner is bowling to four left-handers. Just because the angle the ball coming in makes so much difference against a spinner. And it can turn away from you at some stage in the Test match.”

He further elaborated, “Minor factors need to be assessed before picking the first spinner in over eas conditions but that’s quite far away. But we count them (Ashwin and Jadeja) as all-rounders because they are proving themselves in difficult situations and have made important contributions to the team. They are not tailenders anymore, are proper allrounders. their ranking does justice to that. It gives us good balance when we play them both and gives us the cushion to play around with,”

Here is the complete video of the press conference: