Virat Kohli on World Cup exit: 'Every time we woke up, it was the worst feeling in the morning'

India captain Virat Kohli feels the T20I series against West Indies is a great platform to try out fresh talent looking at the ICC World T20 tournament in 2020.

India captain Virat Kohli and vice-captain Rohit Sharma in action at the Cricket World Cup 2019.

 

India captain Virat Kohli is set to reboot eyeing the ICC World T20 title in 2020. The process begins with the first T20I against West Indies in Florida on Saturday. Ahead of the fresh start, the star batsman discussed the future plans and revealed how the semifinal loss to New Zealand pinched him every morning.

“The first few days after the World Cup exit was quite difficult, till the time the tournament got over. Every time we woke up, it was the worst feeling in the morning and you do things through the day and get on with your life. We are professionals and every team has to move on. We are quite okay with what happened in the World Cup,” he told reporters on Friday.

The men in blue will begin the T20 series with a lot of new faces in its ranks. Kohli feels it is the best platform for them to cement their spots. “It is a great opportunity for the guys stepping in to deliver what we need from the them as team. Not having Hardik Pandya and M.S. Dhoni, the two finishers around, is different to what we are used to but also, as I said, it is opportunity for the guys who are coming up.”

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Team India met on the field for the first time on Thursday. “It was a good session of fielding. Everyone was excited and looking forward to just playing. That is the best thing you can do as a team, get on the park as soon as possible. It gives us an opportunity to have some fun together and understand why we have been so successful as a team,” said Kohli.

 

The bowling unit

Kohli is not worried about the young players in the side as they come with heavy IPL experience. “They play in front of 40 to 50,000 people regularly. They score against top players and also get them out. It will not be too intimidating for them and we have a lot of belief in their abilities. They have come here for the T20 experience.

"We have 25 to 26 games before the T20 World Cup. You need to see what combination you can make through these games depending on the conditions. It is a normal process at this level. There is not a single match that you can take lightly. If you need confidence, you need results as well. It boils down to the players eventually. We will try to pick our best XV through these games."

Approach in the series

Kohli wants to plan going by the need of the hour. "If the situation demands me to be aggressive, I will be. If it demands to play a certain role so that other players around me can unleash their potential, I will be more than happy to do that. In international cricket, you can’t be one-dimensional. You need to be flexible and have a lot of acceptance in terms of how the situation pans out. That has always been my mindset. If you are too rigid in your approach, you won’t be able to adjust."

In Dhoni's absence, the spotlight will be on Rishabh Pant and Kohli backed him to come out good. "Dhoni’s experience has been a crucial factor for us. But it is a great chance for Rishabh Pant to play more international cricket, show his potential and we all want him to become a consistent performer for the Indian cricket team. MS’ experience remains to be a crucial factor but these youngsters should look forward to the opportunity," he added.

Shikhar Dhawan is fully fit and ready to start with Rohit Sharma.