India has worked on fielding issues, says Kohli

Virat Kohli’s men completed a strong win in their opening game against Pakistan, but that definitely didn’t mean they would get complacent, the India captain has said.

Ahead of Thursday’s game against Sri Lanka at The Oval, Kohli said, “I think we are playing good cricket. We certainly know that as a team. I don't think you should focus on the negatives when people are saying negative things about you as a team. Similarly, when you're playing well, I don't think you should look too much into the praise factor as well. We try to maintain the same kind of intensity and momentum regardless of how we are playing.

“At the moment we are playing some good cricket, but that doesn't mean that we play with arrogance.”

Kohli said India would not even “think of taking anyone lightly” and was wary of Sri Lanka, who has often lifted its game in such tournaments.

“We respect every opposition the same way, and we intend to play the same kind of cricket against everyone," he said. “There are no guarantees. In this sport, anyone can upset anyone on their given day. This tournament being the top eight teams in the world, you certainly cannot even think of taking anyone lightly.

“Sri Lanka in ICC tournaments, they've done really well. If you see their record over the years, they've always been a side that has always either reached semis or close to reaching the semis, and they've reached finals as well. So they have got talented players in their team, no doubt about that. They're a young team as well. They're going through a transition phase, but they have the sort of players that can deliver match-winning performances on their day.”

That India can’t afford a drop in intensity level is also because it wasn’t at its best on the field against Pakistan, dropping two catches and misfielding numerous times. Kohli had rated the fielding performance six on ten then, but insisted the team has addressed the issue.

“I felt that maybe starting the tournament and having done so well with the bat, I think the guys wanted to bring in that extra energy,” he explained. “Sometimes in the starting of the tournament, creating momentum as a team, you can misfield a few and you can get overexcited. There can be lapses as well, especially when the team is seven or eight down, and you know the game is going to get done soon. The complacency can come in. I'm not sure if it did, but that could be another factor.

“But we addressed those things and asked the guys to be ruthless and finish games off because the teams that bat deep, they can get a 60-70-run partnership even in the end if there is a lapse in the field. In a tournament like this, I think you need to plug those holes.”

Kohli had to make a couple of tricky decisions in the previous game – leaving out Ravichandran Ashwin and sending Hardik Pandya ahead of MS Dhoni. While revealing that the team combination could change depending on the track and the opposition, Kohli said the players were understanding of all the decisions on team combinations.

“[Those decisions] were not hard at all,” he said. “It's very hard for people looking from the outside, but the kind of understanding we have within the team, it's difficult to explain. We have a lot of respect among the players and trust among the players.

“There's no issues whatsoever. I mean, I'm not saying this because I want to make it sound good, but if you guys ever end up experiencing that team environment, you'll understand what I'm saying, that there's total transparency, and everyone respects and understands what we decide to do as a team. It wasn't hard because I knew the guys would understand. If people react to it differently, then it becomes an issue, but if everyone is supportive of it, then you have no issues at all.”