India vs Australia: Virat Kohli issues ultimatum to batsmen; praises bowling attack ahead of OZ tour

Virat Kohli and coach Ravi Shastri were speaking during a press conference in Mumbai before the team’s departure for the blockbuster series against Australia, starting November 21.

India skipper Virat Kohli feels that it is time for the batsmen to step up and be counted as the bowlers have already shown that they are more than capable of picking 20 wickets in a Test match.

File image of India skipper Virat Kohli. (Action Images via Reuters)

Kohli and coach Ravi Shastri were speaking during a press conference in Mumbai before the team’s departure for the blockbuster series against Australia, starting November 21, and the India captain said that the batsmen need to bat well together and the focus should not be on individual performances.

“We are focused on how the batsmen can bat well together and not just individually. Bowlers are in a good space and after a long time we have an attack which is capable of picking 20 wickets,” Kohli told reporters in Mumbai.

“If we look at the England tour, apart from Lord’s, we didn’t get bundled out in a Test . We batted well in patches through the series. But when we don’t bat well as a team, we fall down and lose and mentally it takes a toll on you.”

Kohli also revealed that the team management has spoken with the players with regards to how to tackle such situations and the players have been asked to live in the present and not to dwell over their past failures. Apart from Kohli, none of the batsmen showed consistency during India’s tour of England but Kohli is confident that the players will leave their mark in the forthcoming series.

“The idea is to always live in the present and not to focus on the past. We went through a difficult time in 2014 but we came out of that shell. It has happened with me in the past as well. We are always trying to stay in the present because we have the talent. These are just the little things that we need to solidify.

“There is a lot of room for improvement. That is something we realise as a team also. We understand what we need to work on so it is up to the individuals to take ownership of that,” said Kohli.

“There were lot of things we discussed after England, on what went wrong. We felt there was not a lot that we did wrong but whatever was not right went extreme. We played good cricket but the mistakes were also very extreme.

“How to control the game is something we need to work on. We have to find a solution in tough situations rather than feeling that it would appear from somewhere.”

On the contrary, the bowlers did well in the last two away tours but Kohli said all departments must fire in unison to achieve a series win.

“From the last time we went there (to Australia), fitness levels of the bowlers are surely up, which is the most important factor in Australia. The pitches can get boring at times, the Kookaburra doesn’t do much. So, it is about maintaining the pace with which you start your day.”

He cited the example of South Africa, who are one of the few teams to win a Test series in Australia in recent times.

“That is why South Africa have done well. They had Morne Morkel, Jacques Kallis, Dale Steyn and now Kagiso Rabada. They have relentlessly bowled in the right areas to get those wickets. Our guys are surely capable too to do a similar kind of job but I don’t want to focus on that. The batsmen need to step up as well.”

((With PTI inputs))