We too should get a break between games, says Kohli

Not the one to mince his words, Virat Kohli demanded a staggered schedule for his team in future, similar to the one England are having against India at the moment.

The Alastair Cook-led side enjoyed an eight-day gap between the third Test in Mohali and the fourth Test, starting here on Thursday.

“We didn’t ask for the gap, it was part of the schedule,” he said with a straight face when asked about the gap, which is a rarity these days. While Kohli admitted that he too enjoyed the break, he expected a similar treatment for India when they next travel to play England.

“Make sure when we go there we also have eight days’ gap after the three Tests and a 25-day gap between ODIs and Tests. We didn’t ask for it but seeing the long season ahead, it did us no harm. It actually helped us rest a bit, reflect on what we have done in the two games that we have won and visualise again and come back even more fresh compared to the last two Test matches,” he explained.

Not just that, England will fly back home for Christmas break after the fifth Test and will return for their limited-overs engagement after a 25-day gap.

“We should come back for a month as well from England,” he said when asked if India too should have a break like England. “We play there for three and half months and everything we do is in the media’s eyes, even our off-time is scanned. I don’t have any news of them enjoying their holiday in Dubai at all. I would like to see the same thing happen, either they stay the whole tour or we come back for 25 days as well.”

Talking about team combination, Kohli declared KL Rahul to be fit while expressing doubts over Mohammad Shami’s availability. “Rahul is fine and Shami, we got to take a call in the evening in terms of how he is feeling his knee,” he noted. “After the Mohali Test, I think, he felt a bit of soreness in his knee. We don’t want to push a player to an extent where we lose him for the whole season.”