Virat Kohli: Picking 20 wickets crucial

Unfazed by Shardul Thakur’s injury, India skipper Virat Kohli makes it clear that a player will not make the XI only for his batting ability; insists on finding the perfect balance for second Test at Lord’s

Team India are once again forced to assess the balance of the team ahead of the second Test at Lord’s, thanks to an injury to Shardul Thakur.

The Mumbai pacer provided just the right kind of balance with his ability to bat in the lower order. However, a strain on his left hamstring has ruled him out of the second Test against England. He will be fit for the third Test, though, said India skipper Virat Kohli.

Selection conundrum

The selection conundrum for the Indian think-tank is whether to go for a bowler who can contribute with the bat or opt for an out-and-out pace bowler to maintain the 4-1 template (four pacers and a spinner) used during the rain-hampered drawn first Test at Nottingham.

India’s options are picking fit-again, experienced pacer Ishant Sharma, who played a sterling role during the 2014 Lord’s Test win with 7-74 in the second innings. He also had full practice sessions before the Lord’s Test. 

Off-spinner R Ashwin, who has five Test centuries under his belt, is another option India would look at.

The Indian skipper was clear that the main objective will be to take 20 wickets rather than look to add cushion to their batting line-up.

“The good thing is Jadeja has got runs in the first game already, so he’ll go into the second game confident. That already makes our batting bit deeper. We are very comfortable where we are placed as a batting unit and we don’t feel we might be a batsman short if Shardul doesn’t play. For us, it’s about yes, finding that perfect balance, but if someone like Shardul is not available, then we’ll definitely first think about how to pick up 20 wickets and not try to plug in another guy who can give us some runs with the bat. And we’ll be very comfortable after how the first Test went,” said Kohli during a virtual press conference on Wednesday.

Kohli hoped the batsmen who couldn’t score in the first Test will step up in the second game. “Every game is an opportunity for the other batters to step up. Rohit [Sharma] and KL [Rahul] played really well. From the batsmen’s point of view, we are well placed because [Cheteshwar] Pujara, Jinks [Ajinkya Rahane] and myself...we did not score too many,” he said.

Virat not pleased

Irrespective of what combination India go with, the slow over-rate is an area of concern after both, England and the visitors, were docked two points from the World Test Championship. “As a team, we are not pleased that we lost two points because of factors that are definitely in our control. We made up quite a few overs at the end. We were short by two overs, but we made up quite a few overs in that second innings,” Kohli said.

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