Kumble stresses on the importance of communicating with the players

"We all want the team to do well and the player who has replaced also to do well. But it’s important that we keep all of them in the loop," says Anil Kumble

November 06, 2016 03:34 pm | Updated December 02, 2016 01:53 pm IST - Rajkot

Indian cricket team coach Anil Kumble. File photo: K. Bhagya Prakash

Indian cricket team coach Anil Kumble. File photo: K. Bhagya Prakash

After the Indian team’s first practice session before the first Test against England starting in Rajkot on Wednesday, India’s coach Anil Kumble said England is a quality side with players like Alistair Cook, Joe Root and also the visitor’s bowling attacking. Kumble also talked about the importance of communicating with the players, including the injured and the importance of Hardik Pandya in the team.

Excerpts:

On Hardik Pandya: He is an extremely talented player. When he first came into IPL, he showed what he’s capable of; I think the potential Hardik has, has been seen by all. When he bowled in Dharamsala and batted in Delhi, one could see that he’s a quality player. That’s why we are backing him in this series as well. We all understand the importance of an all-rounder, as a fifth bowler and bat in the lower order, that’s a great option to have. We are keen how Hardik develops. We don’t want to put too much pressure on him, he will have all the freedom to express himself and not worry about Test cricket, whenever he gets the opportunity. He is a quality player whom we will back and yes, he will only get better. The more he plays, better he will get and it’s a nice thing to have an all-rounder in the squad.

On Karun Nair: Karun (Nair) has done all the hard yards in domestic cricket; he’s scored heavily, regularly and consistently. There was a bit of talk about him not performing for India ‘A’ in Australia, but what we are looking at is consistency and that’s why he was part of the squad against New Zealand. After that he’s got runs in the Ranji Trophy. So Rohit’s absence has opened an opportunity for Karun, but we have not decided on the combination to play with...either to go with the same combination we played against New Zealand or look at a different combination. But Karun is someone we have kept a close eye on. I am sure he will get an opportunity. And when he goes out to bat, we will back him to score runs the same way he has done for Karnataka.

Preparation before 1st Test: We had four or five days break after the series against New Zealand. We are playing a five Test series after a long time. We are happy with our preparation. Obviously disappointed with some of the injuries that has happened, but then it (injury) is part and parcel of the game. I feel sad, especially for Rohit (Sharma) because he was really doing well in the Test format (against New Zealand). We all know the importance of Rohit in the shorter format, but he started doing well in Test format and it’s unfortunate that he misses out on this series.

Team combination: We still have not figured out the combination (for the first Test); everyone is available. With Hardik (Pandya) being part of the squad, we have more options. This is the first Test that will happen at Rajkot. India has played One-Day cricket and Twenty20 here. But we don’t know how the wicket will behave in a Test match. It looks a good surface. We still have a couple of days to decide the team for the Test match.

Series against New Zealand: New Zealand was a hard-fought series. The result shows a 3-0 win to us (India), but we knew how hard we had to work to win the series. What was very nice to see during the series was that all the three surfaces (Kanpur, Kolkata and Indore) were very different and our team adapted to the conditions and that’s out strength. Yes, we certainly look at the opposition and find out what their strengths and weaknesses are. Having said that England is a quality side. Alistair Cook has been here a number of occasions. He’s a quality player at the top and that’s something we will be looking at. There is Joe Root and also their bowling attack is something that has troubled us in the past. What we would like to focus on is what we can do, and how we can measure up to and that’s how we played against New Zealand. As I said, we adapted to the three surfaces quickly and did the right things as a team. As a bowling unit we bowled in the right areas, because each wicket/surface demanded a different adaptation as a bowler. Our batting also clicked and that’s what we are expecting in the first Test here as well.

Playing Test cricket: It’s a totally different England team that’s here. Some of them may have played in the last series here; but it’s a totally different series for us. What’s really good is that we have been playing Test cricket right from West Indies onwards and there was five ODIs in between and a couple of Twenty20s in Florida. We have played seven Test matches in a row and we have seen the development of the team in the last seven matches; that’s healthy and every player is looking forward to the five Test series. One can look at the past records the way you want to, but for us, immediate performance really matters and that’s the confidence we would like to take in the series.

Communicating with players: Communication is very important when winning and losing and also with the injured players. So I know exactly what goes through in a player’s mind. We all want the team to do well and the player who has replaced also to do well. But it’s important that we keep all of them in the loop. It’s unfortunate that K.L. Rahul who has performed brilliantly in all three formats is missing out, we are hoping that he will come back soon. So with Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Shikhar Dhawan and as I said, a big blow for Rohit, the timing of the injuries have not been ideal for him.

We will keep them motivated. They also realise that it’s an occupational hazard. When you are injured, the important thing for a coach is not to look at them to come back quickly, because that’s not going to help that particular individual. It’s important that they are 100 per cent fit and probably find that out in a domestic game. That’s the kind of protocols we have set. We would like them to play under pressure in a domestic match unless there is an emergency or case to case think to look at. It’s difficult, but getting injured is part and parcel of one’s international career.

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