Where the mind is without fear, Kohli’s revival mantra

Captain denies India’s batting is a oneman army, implores batsmen to play with clarity

then 1-3 in 2014.

“We are not certainly thinking of last time around when we came here in 2014 or 2011. We are only thinking about the fact that we do have the bowling attack to pick up 20 wickets and as batsmen we should think of that as an opportunity to score runs and make the team win games. What’s been unfortunate, I wouldn’t say unfortunate, but sad we haven’t had those skills coming together.

“We need guys putting their hands up and saying ‘give me a tough situation, I’m going to pull the team out.’ As I said before the game, it’s all in the head. You can play well in any condition if you are mentally ready for it. We should want the next Test to come early rather than thinking we have five days till the match.”

After the Edgbaston defeat he asked his batsmen to analyse their performances and rectify. None has managed a fifty so far, apart from Kohli’s 149 and 51. “When you start the game, you think positive, feel like you are ready. It’s when you are out there in a situation that’s tough that you have to find ways of countering that situation, which I think we have failed to do as batsmen, myself included in this game.

“I don’t see any technical deficiency. If a batsman is clear in the head and he’s clear about the plans he’s taking, then if the ball does something off the pitch, you’re able to counter it…

“The focus has to be what the team requires and not what the individual game needs to be. All I can say is we are going to try our level best to get into that frame of mind.”

No one’s doing anyone a favour by going out there and performing. It’s our job to do that and it’s a duty we’ve been given. On whether India is a one-man army We are not certainly thinking of 2014 or 2011. We are only thinking that we have the bowling to pick up 20 wickets and as batsmen we should think of that as an opportunity to score runs and make the team win games. On whether the team was suffering any hangover of the 2011 and 2014 tours

GETTY IMAGES India’s backtoback debacle in the Test series in England could force the BCCI to review Virat Kohli’s captaincy and the role played by head coach Ravi Shastri (centre) along with batting coach Sanjay Bangar (left). The team management still has time to make amends.