Virat Kohli is clear about expecting his players to take up individual responsibility in tune with team plans and try to discharge their role.
The India captain was referring to the gains from South Africa tour, plus lessons from England as the squad heads to Australia for another overseas tour. Ravi Shastri, team coach, also focused on the same lines.
The captain said, “We sat down and figured a lot of things that went wrong in England. To be honest, there was not much that went wrong, but whatever was not right was extreme also. So while we played good cricket, mistakes were also very extreme, and [it was] the reason for us that we lost many number of games than winning them.”
Striking balance
He added: “We need to strike a decent balance of (things to be done), how to control a situation when it goes against us, find a way out of it rather than get out of it immediately. On an individual level, I need to do these things more. We expect the same from the whole team as well.”
The series against Australia involves three T20Is staring in Brisbane on Nov. 21, followed by four Tests and three ODIs.
Shastri, replying to a query on performance assessment after England, quipped: “In conditions foreign to us, across all formats, I am more than happy with the performances and see progress. I am saying this in spite of the result in England. If we learn from the mistakes made in South Africa and England, I think it will stand us in good stead in Australia.”
Individual’s role
The captain chipped in: “We definitely made decent progress, but there is a lot of room for improvement. We understand within the group what we need to work on. It is up to the individual to take up responsibility, realise the things that are explained from the team-goal point of view. It can happen only when individuals work on those things.”
Kohli elaborated: “From a management point of view, things are explained in a proper manner. People are told what needs to be done. No one can tell me every ball what shot I need to make, or decisions I make every ball. When the focus is on every ball, it has to be precise on what the team wants. When you win Tests, you see those kind of performances.”
The Indian swing bowlers are expected to replicate performances delivered in South Africa and England in helpful conditions. The captain chose to talk about the expectations from batsmen.
“We have a great bowling attack, the batsman need to step up, especially the lower order. I do understand that at the top, batting can get difficult when guys are bowling a good spell. It is relatively easier for the middle-order, the contribution from the lower order is crucial. As we saw in England, their lower order contribution was different from ours; it made a difference in the series.”
