Wedding break with Anushka Sharma won’t disturb my cricket: Virat Kohli ahead of SA tour
Virat Kohli skipped the limited overs series against Sri Lanka to get married to Bollywood actress Anushka Sharma. He will lead the Indian cricket team in South Africa in January-February.
Captain Virat Kohli on Wednesday said that the hunger of the Indian cricket team remains the same despite their winning streak throughout 2017 and that his boys are ready to perform in the upcoming tour of South Africa.
“You need to play cricket for a long period of time to win abroad. The hunger this time is the same. We want to do what we couldn’t the last time around,” said Kohli, hours before the team’s flight to South Africa.
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“Cricket is played with bat and ball. Conditions don’t matter. I have no doubt in the ability of the team. We are on the right track.”
India will play three Tests, six One-Day Internationals (ODI) and three Twenty20 Internationals from January 5 to February 24.
“As a team we are confident. We are looking forward to face the South African team. Playing for the country is the most important. When you do things in challenging conditions it gives more satisfaction, that’s for sure,” added the 29-year-old.
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“Our bowling has come a long way, batting has come a long way. We will try to do well than the last time. It’s an opportunity for us to go back again. Try to do the same thing in a much better way.”
The skipper recently got married to star actress Anushka Sharma and held wedding receptions in New Delhi (December 21) and Mumbai (December 26). He took a break and did not play the ODIs and T20s against Sri Lanka, both of which India won under the leadership of Rohit Sharma.
“I was away for something which was much more important in my life but I had been training. Switching back to cricket was not difficult at all. Cricket is in my blood,” added the Delhi-born.
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Indian cricket team coach Ravi Shastri also backed his boys saying they are ready for the challenge.
“The boys are ready for the challenge. We toured Australia three years ago. We did well in England. The preparations have been good,” said Shastri.
“We know South Africa is a big challenge. The best thing of this team is we want to embrace the challenge.”
