Virat Kohli on Tuesday said he is excited at the prospect of leading the team in his first full series as captain and would like to create the right momentum. “It is my first full series. It’s a great opportunity to create some momentum knowing it’s a three-Test series, having some plan in mind, having the opportunity and time to execute them,” said Kohli at the pre-match press conference.
“Even if it’s an off day, you still have time to re-group and think about what went wrong. If it’s a good day you can learn from it, the positives and the areas that need improvement. As a captain you always need more time with the team, more games to play and better chances of creating an environment that you require the team to be in. So I’m very excited. It’s an opportunity not only for me but all of us. We are all pretty early in our careers and it’s exciting,” he added.
India are expected to go in with five bowlers and five specialist batsmen, along with wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha at number six and skipper once again stressed on the importance of taking 20 wickets.
“The basic idea is to take 20 wickets,” said Kohli, talking about the six-five strategy. “That’s the only way you can win a game. The idea of playing five bowlers is pretty clear. Someone like Saha who is looking to cement his place in the side or R Ashwin who we are looking at as an all-rounder rather than a bowler who can bat, because he has the ability.
“But the responsibility is on the top five batsmen to score the bulk of the runs so that they can take the pressure of these two till the time they feel comfortable and get going in this format,” he explained.
“The responsibility is spread equally among all five specialist batsmen. It’s not more or less on any one player.”