Indian captain Virat Kohli has asked his team to shed any sense of complacency on the back of stellar performances on the last tour of Australia as the Men in Blue gear up to face the hosts Australia, from tomorrow at the Adelaide Oval. He reminded his players about the difference in challenges they are likely to encounter in the upcoming series compared to what they faced in the last series in 2018-19.
Kohli reiterated the ‘staying in the present’ axiom that vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane mentioned yesterday and said that the team has winning the Adelaide Test as its main priority before heading for the other Tests.
"I like to keep things simple. I do not quite carry forward anything from the past. It is very important to stay in the present and understand the process you are going through. Last time around, our challenge was different. Starting in Adelaide, we had a goal, which we wanted to achieve - we wanted to win, so it was important to start well. The goal remains similar this time as well," Kohli said in the pre-match press conference conducted virtually on Wednesday.
Of all the different challenges waiting for the Indian team, the fact that this series will start with a day-night Test will be the most unique one for the tourists who had won the first Test of the last series they won in Australia and Virat Kohli is not shrugging it off. He pointed out that the pink ball will move more than the red ball and that playing, especially batting, becomes very tricky under lights. However, he put his faith on his team and backed them to come up with strong tactics to counter whatever challenges will be thrown at him and his team.
"Pink-ball Test is probably going to be a bit more challenging in terms of conditions and how the ball moves around in the evening and stuff like that. For us as a team, it is about adaptability. Probably, the focus will be to understand the situations we are presented with and counter that as best as possible with our abilities. Every challenge is new and different and you have to understand the difficulties and requirements to fulfill that particular challenge and hopefully, make sure you come out on top," Kohli added.
Bucking the usual trend in Indian cricket of not disclosing the playing XI before the toss of a Test match, the Indian team released their playing XI for the Adelaide Test, showing signs of a team that is assured about the tactics and role of players going into a big game.
Prithvi Shaw has been picked to partner Mayank Agarwal at the top of the order while Wriddhiman Saha has been preferred over Rishabh Pant for the wicketkeeper's slot, and Umesh Yadav has been selected to fill in the void left by the injury to Ishant Sharma.
Kohli had dropped hints about retaining Shaw at the top of the order who has not been in great touch and does not have the statistics in his favour for a strong case to trump Gill, who looked great in warm-up games. However, the class of Gill has not gone unnoticed and Kohli said that he will get opportunities at some point in time, sooner rather than later. He also praised Agarwal for showing character on the last tour when he was called up in the middle of the series to open the batting.
"They are obviously very talented and that's why they are here. Shubman (Gill) hasn't got opportunities in Test cricket yet. So, as and when he gets opportunities, it needs to be seen how he goes about things. He is a confident young man. Prithvi has performed well at Test level, but he will be playing in Australia for the first time, so it's very exciting to see his progress as well. Mayank came around in the last tour and batted brilliantly without any baggage. That's what you expect from the younger guys - just go out there, express themselves, and play fearless cricket," Kohli said of the Indian top-order which is heavily reliant on young players.
Virat Kohli has an outstanding record as a batsman in Australia and has batted with supreme attitude and flair and whenever he has got the opportunity to take the attack to the opposition, he has not backed away from getting under their skins.
A few days back, former Australian captain and former coach of the Indian team Greg Chappell had described Kohli as the “most Australian non-Australian” cricketer of all time. Virat did not shy away from responding to such words from Chappell and talked about the brand of cricket both he and the Indian team, under his leadership, want to play. He said that the Indian team of now has started to stand up to the challenges posed by the Australians and it does not matter to him if his mindset is comparable to an Australian or not.
"I have always been myself. The way my personality and character is... it is the representation of a new India. For me, that's how I look at it. It's not a comparison of me being similar to an Australian mindset or anything like that. It's how we have started to stand up as a team and my personality has always been like this from day one," Kohli reacted thus to the comment by Chappell.
Kohli has had an interesting time while captaining or playing with the Indian team in Australia. He was rebuked for reacting in an obscene manner against Australian spectators whom he had called hostile in his first series down under in 2011-12. However, his stature grew with the number of runs he kept on piling in the country, after hitting his maiden century at the Adelaide Oval in his very first series in the country, in 2011/12. The crowds in Australia since then have started to respect his style, flair of batting, and aggressive intent on the field and Kohli too accepted that fact.
"It's a wonderful place to play cricket. When you play well here, you earn the respect of the public and there is anticipation and chat around, wanting to see you play. Similarly with Jasprit as well. Last time, he performed really well, so there is going to be anticipation and excitement to watch him bowl," Kohli added.
Virat Kohli will return home after the first Test for the birth of his child and many experts and fans believe that the real test for the Men in Blue will begin after his departure. Kohli has been the mainstay of the Indian batting line-up, more so since the time he was promoted to lead the side in the very country, in 2014/15 series, after MS Dhoni had decided to hang his boots in Test cricket in during the course of that series.
Kohli became the first Indian captain to lead the country to a Test series win in Australia and hence, it is understood that the level of analysis that is happening on the aftereffects of his early departure. But Kohli believes that his deputy, Ajinkya Rahane is aware of the strengths and weaknesses of the team and that he will do a great job once he leaves for India. He said that the strategies the team has been making since he took the leadership position has been a collective effort and not just him taking all the crucial decisions. The 32-year old also added that familiarity with the decision-making process will help Rahane take important decisions on and off the field.
"We have had a lot of mutual understanding over the years. We have had some great partnerships batting together, which is based on trust. Jinks (Rahane) has done a tremendous job in the two practice games. He seems to be very composed and he knows the strengths of our teams and how we need to go about it. The way we have played the game has been a collective effort. It's a cultural effort and not just me strategizing things and putting things in front of people. It's the whole team that's involved. We already know the template we play with and how we are to go ahead. We are absolutely on the same page and I am sure he (Rahane) will do a tremendous job in my absence. The focus remains, till the time I am here, to be able to provide captaincy and leadership and performances to the best of my abilities," Kohli said of Rahane.
Rahane has the experience of leading the side in two test matches - once when Kohli had injured his shoulder against Australia in the 2017 Border-Gavaskar series and on another instance when Kohli was rested for a one-off Test against Afghanistan, both played in India. India had won both the Tests Rahane had captained in but challenging a full-strength Australia in their own backyard will be a completely different ball game altogether. Rahane also does not have the luxury of captaining an Indian team that has Kohli as its premier batsman like Virat, the captain has.
Powered by Froala Editor