26 May,2017 04:26 PM IST | London | PTI
India skipper Virat Kohli yesterday said his team has strengthened its lower middle-order and that has eased the pressure on MS Dhoni to finish off the games
Virat Kohli
India skipper Virat Kohli yesterday said his team has strengthened its lower middle-order and that has eased the pressure on MS Dhoni to finish off the games.
Kohli and his team landed here yesterday morning to compete in the Champions Trophy starting June 1.
"The one thing we needed to strengthen was our lower middle-order contribution. Too much burden was coming on MS in the past couple of years, was what we felt. He wasn't able to express himself purely because of the fact there are not enough guys showing composure to finish off games with him.
"But having had Kedar (Jadhav) and Hardik (Pandya) do so well in that particular phase of the innings, that has strengthened our squad really well. And how they're coming in provides that beautiful balance to us," said Kohli at the press conference following the team's arrival here for the Champions Trophy.
"So that's one area we needed improvement on. And the series against England really sealed it for us. So we're in pretty good head space going into this tournament," he added.
Kohli said India are a "pretty balanced side" but how they execute themselves in the upcoming tournament would decide their fate.
"I feel we''e pretty balanced going forward. We're pretty balanced side. All the bowlers are bowling well. The batsmen are playing well. You might have the best side in the world. But if you don't execute it, there's no point having that skill. So I think in a tournament like this, it all boils down to how you execute on the day," said the 28-year-old.
