Stay in ODI mode, Kohli urges team
Skipper asks players not to lose sight of big picture — World Cup — during the frenetic IPL
VISAKHAPATNAM: Virat Kohli asked India’s World Cup probables to be responsible and rest themselves if required during a challenging IPL season to ensure they are on top of their game and in a good frame of mind going to England.
“As a cricketer, you have to map out how many practice sessions you really need (during the IPL). If you are hitting the ball well, there is no need to go to a practice session and tire yourself out when you can utilise that particular phase to rest and recover even more… If your team is in a great position in the tournament, you wouldn’t mind taking two-three games off so it all depends on how you feel physically. Everyone has to be really honest about it to themselves and not push beyond a limit. That might hamper the India team later on. I think we all need to take responsibility for this,” said the India captain here on Saturday.
STAYING ALERT
And that wasn’t all. Speaking to the media ahead of Sunday’s T20 International here, Kohli cautioned his mates about not letting bad habits creep in during the IPL, adding that he isn’t going to do anything fancy going into the franchise league.
“All people who are going to be part of the World Cup need to make sure their games don’t go too much away from the one-day mould. They need to be very wary of bad habits that might creep in during the IPL.
“Frame of mind is the most important thing getting into the World Cup. And we need 15 people who are confident and mentally really happy about where their game is at that particular moment and it will take a consistent effort from all the players during the IPL to keep a check on that. The moment we enter the nets and create bad habits, you lose momentum. And once you lose that batting form, it is very difficult to get it back in a tournament like the World Cup. Everyone will have to protect that mindset and be aligned towards what the team wants.”
SQUAD SORTED
Barring looking at a reserve opener and the second wicketkeeper, Kohli said the squad for the World Cup is sorted, the glorious or not-so-glorious uncertainties of cricket notwithstanding.
“We are more or less sorted, I guess. But through the course of the series (against Australia), you might see something which might surprise you as a team or you might want to change immediately. But those are things which depend on what circumstances might come in front of you. As of now, we feel pretty balanced as a side. I don’t see major concerns or areas that we need to think about any more, everything is more or less sorted,” he said.