Emphasising that batting for a longer duration will be key, India’s chief coach Anil Kumble says they are focussing on changing the mindset of the batsmen from shorter to longer format ahead of the Test series against West Indies, starting here on Thursday.
“We are focusing at changing the mindset of batsmen in terms of coming from shorter format into a longer format and the batting time as it is important to bat for a longer duration,” said Kumble, who played 132 Test matches, in his career.
“In the bowling department, we will be focusing of consistent lengths and being boring. That’s what we need to do when playing Test cricket. The emphasis will also be on the catching as they are important to win the games,” said Kumble, while responding to queries from fans during an Q/A session on twitter.
Kumble said both spinners and pacers will have to bowl in tandem on the slower West Indies wickets.
“I believe that bowlers also bowl in partnerships like batsmen play in partnership. Spinners and fast bowlers will have an equal role. The wickets have so far been on the slower side but I don’t know what kind of wickets will be in the four Test matches. Indian spinner will have an important role to play for us to win the series,” he said.
Responding to a query on grooming Ashwin as an all-rounder as a solution to India’s balance overseas, Kumble said, “Ashwin is an extremely capable batsman and we are also blessed with some of the other lower-middle order batsmen who are extremely capable. The focus is not just on the bowlers bowling but also on the bowlers batting.”