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Cricket PlayersIndia vs New Zealand: ‘Respect the format’ - Virat Kohli not looking at ODI series as preparation for T20 World Cup
Ind vs NZ: “So no, we are not looking at this series as preparation for T20 World Cup. IPL is going to be the right platform for that,” Kohli said.
This is a T20 World Cup year, but for Virat Kohli, the Indian team is not looking to use the upcoming ODI series against New Zealand as an opportunity to shore up their plans for the shortest format. He believes that there are enough T20Is lined up for the side to figure out its combinations. He also says that the IPL will give the players enough opportunity to hone their skills. “We have had five T20s already, it’s not that we don’t have a lot of T20 cricket. We have IPL as well which is going to be a month and a half of T20 cricket. So we will probably utilise that, I think, because last year (for ODI World Cup) you did not have much opportunity to prepare yourselves apart from the games that were in front of you,” said Kohli on the eve of the first ODI in Hamilton.
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“But T20s is very different, as I said. IPL is probably the most competitive tournament you can ask for as a collective and guys will look to get into that frame of mind in that tournament and not this early in a 50-over format because you don’t want to play in a different manner,” he further added.
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Kohli does not want the players to think too much about T20s when they are playing 50-overs cricket as the pace and tempo of each format are extremely different.
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“You have to respect the format, you have to play according to the pace of the 50-over game and as I spoke of the combination as well. It’s about guys getting settled in their roles and repeating that game after game so that they know I played this in this format, I have to play this in T20s or similarly in Test cricket. “These things are all about creating good habits for different formats and then being able to switch between them. So no, we are not looking at this series as preparation for T20 World Cup. IPL is going to be the right platform for that.”
