Batsmen will have to be fearless, decisive: Kohli

Virat Kohli asserted on Tuesday that India aren’t given to playing mind games through statements in the media or targeting a particular player but he may just have done so unwittingly by pointing out that his rival number Hashim Amla was struggling to get going in the series where he has managed just 50 runs in three innings.

“If you see any sort of series or tours in the past, the opposition will obviously look to target the captain because he is the one sort of making strategies,” said Kohli when asked if Amla’s lean run was a good sign for India. “The opposition finds it very important for him (captain) to be not comfortable when he is batting out there especially if he is a batter. That is what I have experienced in the past as well. When we tour abroad, they try to target the captain and probably their main players. I wouldn’t say we have targeted a particular player as such but obviously I am sure it will be a very worrying factor for the individual that someone who is an important player has not been able to get lot of runs in the series,” he explained.

Indian batsmen, especially during the Sri Lankan series and in the first Test in Mohali, struggled against spinners as they appeared reluctant to use their feet and paid the price. Kohli, however, felt there was no such issue with his batsmen.

“Everyone is reading the bowlers pretty well,” he began. “We had spoken about this issue after the Galle Test and we figured out that we need to be more fearless in stepping out and hitting the ball. Sometimes you can be double-minded thinking ‘what if I get beaten, what if I get stumped’. Once that term ‘if’ comes in, you cannot commit to any shot. That is what we have figured out that if anytime if you want to step out and hit a six go for it, you are taking a step for the betterment of the team. This is a team strategy and you are not answerable to anyone if you are going according to the team’s plans,” he reasoned.

Kohli didn’t seem perturbed by the fact less than four days of cricket has been played in the last 19 days and that the weather probably denied India a potential win in Bengaluru. “Mohali was a positive result for us but that was a long time back,” he noted. “What happened in Bangalore is something that was not in our control… I remember one fine tour that India had to Sri Lanka, it was a 20 or 22-day tour and only one day of cricket was possible.

“It’s not the first time that it’s happening, certainly not the last time that it has happened because weather is something that we can’t control. What we can control is our practice sessions and we have had a few and the guys are in good shape, looking in good nick and feeling mentally good about approaching this Test match,” he remarked.