Focus on flexibility, unpredictability: Kohli
Virat Kohli once again stressed the need for India to find the ideal playing XI well before the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019.
Since before the start of the five-match One-Day International series in Sri Lanka, the Indian skipper has made clear his intentions of identifying a core group of players in the lead-up to the marquee event in the United Kingdom. On Sunday (September 3), after India swept Sri Lanka 5-0 with a six-wicket win at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo, Kohli laid out the detailed plan.
“If within the next couple of series we find the best combination for us, which is covering all bases and working well, and we find an XI that is flexible enough, then I think we are sorted,” explained Kohli, who scored an unbeaten 110 in India’s pursuit of 239.
“The next couple of series will be big for us. One of the things we don’t want to be is predictable. We want to be able to surprise oppositions by moving all the pieces around without hesitation.”
India next takes on Australia, New Zealand and Sri Lanka in a packed home-series stretch before gearing up for a long overseas stint with trips to South Africa, England and Australia.
“We want 11 guys who can bat at any stage and bowl and chip in with overs at any stage,” said Kohli. “We want to remain unpredictable. We don’t want a set pattern in any department.”
The lack of a pattern was evident in this series as India experimented with different roles for different players. With the series wrapped up 3-0 in Pallekele, India made three changes in Colombo for the fourth match and then four in the final game. Ajinkya Rahane coming in for Shikhar Dhawan, who flew home to be by his ailing mother, was the only forced change.
Even in the first three matches, where India played an unchanged XI, batsmen and bowlers were moved around in accordance to the situation.
“The best thing is transparency,” said Kohli when asked how the players were being handled with so much chopping and changing. “We tell them that this is a bunch of 20-25 people who will make the probables for the World Cup and everyone has an equal opportunity to be tested at different stages. We have 37 games before the World Cup, so we need to find a proper combination and then give them a long run before we settle into the World Cup.
“Everyone understands where we stand as a team, you have to appreciate that and accept that because it is about the larger picture, it is not about who is sitting out and who is playing, it is about focussing on a very big tournament.”
Asked how the members of team were responding to the process, Kohli said: “The best thing about this team is they are very sporting and they accept things quickly, and embrace the challenges. You know they take it as a challenge rather than getting disappointed and sulking. I am quite lucky that I have a bunch of players that do not oppose anything that the management and me as captain address to them. It makes my job a lot easier.”
One of points Kohli slipped in time and again during the interaction was that a great fielding unit was integral in ensuring India ticks all the boxes going forward. On Sunday, it was not at its best, but Kohli, who was a picture of frustration during Sri Lanka’s innings, cut it some slack.
“The only sort of average day we had on the field was today. Apart from that, I think our fielding has been sharp in all the four games,” he observed.
“As a batsman, if someone stops four boundaries of mine on the ropes in four overs, that’s the difference between me getting set or me getting frustrated and playing a bad shot and getting out. Today wasn't our best fielding performance but we’ll keep working on it.”
