Virat Kohli, the Indian captain, feels it would have been “more logical” for two more One-Day Internationals (ODIs) to have been scheduled instead of the T20s, as part of World Cup preparations for both India and Australia. Beginning on Sunday, India embarks on a limited-overs series against Australia, playing two T20s and five ODIs.
“Probably, a couple of more ODIs would have been more beneficial for both the teams, not just us. It would have been more ideal and logical,” Kohli said on the eve of the opening T20.
However, Kohli made it clear the T20s, too, were part of India’s extended preparations for the World Cup. “But look we have to utilise what’s in front of us as best as possible. And as I said, we’re going to look to get into the right kind of frame of mind as a team,” Kohli added.
‘More or less sorted’
The core team for the World Cup is set but skipper didn’t rule out an exceptional performer getting a look in. “We’re more or less sorted. But through the course of the series you might see something which might surprise you as a team and which you might want to change immediately. But those are things that are [dependent] upon how circumstances come in front of you,” he said.
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“As of now, we feel pretty balanced as a side and I don’t see any concerns or areas that we need to think about any more. Everything is more or less sorted,” Kohli declared.
Kohli chose not to reveal whether leg-spinner Mayank Markande will be given preference over regular wrist-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal. Chahal and Krunal Pandya have been the two specialist spinners for India in the T20 format. “Look, he (Markande) has been given an opportunity because he’s done well. It’s purely giving a youngster a chance, who has done well over the last couple of seasons and bowled well in the IPL and T20 cricket.”
Dangerous Stoinis
The Indian captain marked Marcus Stoinis as the most dangerous player in the Aussie set-up. Stoinis, who is set to play in the Indian Premier League for the Royal Challengers Bangalore, scored 533 runs at an average of 53.30 and a strike-rate of 130.63 for Melbourne Stars in the Big Bash League (BBL).
“If I had to single out one player that can make more impact, that would be Stoinis. He has come around really well during the BBL and he’s making standout performances. You can see he’s grown in confidence and he’s definitely going to be a very important player for them,” Kohli said.
“A few of the guys have done really well in the BBL. But from the last time that we played, the games were close contests, both of them. One was washed out, but the other two were really exciting games. We obviously expect a stiff competition overall from the Australian team,” he signed off.
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