Indian skipper, Virat Kohli has clarified that Team India’s approach in the upcoming Test series against Sri Lanka will not be changed just because of the fact that they had whitewashed the visitors at their home earlier this year.
Virat even made it clear that the team is looking forward to maintaining the consistency and will take on Sri Lanka like they would have done against any other team. He said, “Every match you play is important and every series is huge. It’s not like we lose this series and you guys are going to say nothing to us. So, everything is important when you play for the country and we don’t like to differentiate. We simply want to do well as a team.”
He further elaborated, “Whatever the conditions we play at, whatever combinations we need to play, we do that accordingly. Keeping in mind that winning is the most important thing and for that everyone is on the same page whether we play in India or away. Regardless of the opposition we play and we want to maintain our consistency as a team and that has worked for us because we do not differentiate in terms of where we are playing, how we are playing, what team we are playing against. We just want to play good cricket as a team.”
Indian team is yet to lose a Test series at home since the 2012 series loss to England and are expected to win this series as well but Kohli says that he is no worried about the results. He said, “The results take care of themselves anywhere in the world. It’s not like in India you can get away by playing bad cricket. The eventual goal is to respect the sport and skill set we have and try to execute that in every situation and every condition we are in.”
Recently, Team India had own limited-overs series against Australia and New Zealand and will have to get back in the Test cricket mode which Virat reckons that it is challenging but something which his team likes. He said, “Another series for us. We have played so much cricket now it’s all about good preparations, keeping our energy levels up and making sure that we have quality practice. Not necessarily go for quantity because that can also lead to bad habits when you know that you are playing well and in a good zone and when you over practice, that can also lead to the mindset going off.”
Talking about the balance of the team, Virat said, “We have to maintain the balance. I think we have done really well so far in maintaining that balance. We have to get back into the Test mode and create momentum from this game, carry it on in this series and take it forward because we are playing Test cricket straight after as well. It always feels nice to come back into the Test cricket because the challenges are different and something we always look forward to.”
