Virat Kohli not worried by Bhuvneshwar, Shikhar Dhawan’s absence in Nagpur Test
Virat Kohli is confident India’s bench strength will step up in Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Shikhar Dhawan’s absence when the hosts take on Sri Lanka in the second Test in Nagpur, starting Thursday.
Having been the most dominant force in international cricket for some time now, pressure will be on India to go for a win in the second Test starting from Friday at the Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium. To make the task more challenging, they will be missing two of their key performers – seamer Bhuvneshwar Kumar and opener Shikhar Dhawan.
Captain Virat Kohli, though, is confident of finding the right people to fill in their shoes. “Not difficult at all (to find their replacements), because we pick a squad keeping in mind all 15 are equipped with what is required to perform at the international level,” said Kohli on the eve of the match.
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“This kind of scenario where two guys miss out for personal reasons is an opportunity for the guys who get games in these situations. I am not worried at all. Am very confident of the ability of the guys who will step in and they are looking at this as an opportunity to go out and do well for the team which everyone likes to do. I am not bothered. Obviously those two guys have made an impact in a lot of games for us. As I said, it provides an opportunity for others stepping in,” said Kohli.
It remains to be seen what combination the India team would like to go in with. In opener Murali Vijay and pacer Ishant Sharma Kohli does have like-for-like replacements of Shikhar Dhawan and Bhuvneshwar.
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But, if Kohli chooses to experiment then he has the options of trying out Rohit Sharma in the middle-order and play Tamil Nadu all-rounder Vijay Shankar as the third seamer. Even if Shankar doesn’t get a chance here, Kohli said they are looking to groom him as a back-up for Hardik Pandya, who has opted out of the series.
Vijay Shankar’s ‘big moment’
“He (Vijay Shankar) has been very consistent. We wanted to look at another all-rounder keeping in mind that’s a very important aspect of the team going forward. Obviously, Hardik is in our scheme of things as our first all-rounder But we need to, obviously, find out more people who have that capability and whom we can groom and make as back-ups for all-rounder’s slot, which is very crucial for us when we travel abroad. He is a pretty balanced cricketer, he is a very composed, he is handy with the ball, he can easily give you 10-12 overs a day and he is very solid with the bat. I just saw him at the nets. Big moment for him,” said Kohli.
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The India captain predicted the pitch to play true and offer more to the spinners than at Kolkata’s Eden Gardens. “The wicket is quite hard as it is usually is at Nagpur with a nice grass covering on it. So, the fast bowlers should be in play for the first couple of days, for sure, because of the bounce and the nice carry off it as well. From there on, the spinners will come into play. It is a pretty good wicket for overall Test cricket, I feel,” he said.
The track is poised to see a lot more of India’s spin twins R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja than in Kolkata. And, even though Kohli bracketed them as all-rounders, they would also be competing against each other to earn the spot in the playing eleven when they play in conditions like South Africa. “I can’t commit to that 100 per cent when we play abroad that we will be playing with two spinners, to be honest. Because we need to have a look at the balance of the side as well,” said Kohli.
