Virat Kohli oozed confidence as he spoke ahead of what would be a momentous moment for him — leading India in a Test match.
On the prospect of facing Mitchell Johnson, the stand-in skipper was nonchalant.
“A ball is being bowled. You have a bat in hand. It’s simple,” he said.
Kohli said his own pacemen would not hesitate to bounce the Australian batsmen. “It’s a part of the game. It’s every bowler’s right to use it. And it depends on what we have in mind. We will obviously make use of it,” he said.
He called India’s present bunch of pacemen “fast and fit.” “We have four bowlers who can bowl quick,” he said.
Kohli admitted that it was difficult for both teams to come out of the shadow of Hughes’s passing away. “I got along with him particularly well, but we have to move on,” he said.
Attacking cricket
Providing an insight into his strategy as skipper, Kohli said he would be attacking and positive, and not wait for things to happen.
“There may be times when it [his field placements] might appear funny, but that’s the way I play my cricket. I go with my gut feel,” he said.
“We are here to win. That is the attitude with which I want the team to play. Be concerned for the team, not worry about one’s own performance,” he declared.
Asked about M.S. Dhoni joining the team, Kohli said: “His inputs are always so important.”
Kohli, clearly, was not daunted by the fact that India has won only one of its last 19 Tests away.
Neither he nor his team would be too bothered by the Aussie aggression, Kohli said.
“I don’t mind a fight, a banter. It adds spice to the game,” he said.
On his wretched run in England, Kohli said: “I gave too much importance to things not in my control. It was a mistake.
“There is no point sulking. At the end of the day, it is not more than another two months of my life.”
