India captain Virat Kohli spoke about his line-up after losing the third Test against England by an innings and 76 runs. While addressing a post-match virtual presser, the Indian skipper ruled out the concept of playing an extra batsman in the next match which will be played at The Oval in London.
Captain Kohli stated that he would continue with five specialist bowlers, hinting at a change in the attack in order to maintain the workload of the team’s fast bowlers.
“I don't believe in that balance and I have never believed in that balance because either you can try and save a defeat or you can try and win a game. And we have drawn games in the past with a similar number of batters,” Kohli said during the presser.
“If your top six (including keeper) don’t do the job there is no guarantee that the extra guy can bail you out. You have to take pride in taking responsibility and doing the job for the team. If you don't have the ability or resources to take 20 wickets in a Test match, then you are already playing for two results and that's not how we play,” he added.
{{/usCountry}}“If your top six (including keeper) don’t do the job there is no guarantee that the extra guy can bail you out. You have to take pride in taking responsibility and doing the job for the team. If you don't have the ability or resources to take 20 wickets in a Test match, then you are already playing for two results and that's not how we play,” he added.
{{/usCountry}}Kohli further spoke about shuffling with the bowling attack, stating that the management won’t push an individual beyond his limits.
“That's bound to happen as it's a logical and sensible thing to do. We don't want to push individuals to a place where they break down and that conversation is important,” Kohli said.
“We will have that conversation with individuals and you can't expect that in a short turnaround like these guys can play four Test matches in a row. So, we will assess who are the guys who will be given that many number of days to recover and be okay for the fifth one,” he added.