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‘Last series in SL changed Test fortunes’ – Kohli
India captain Virat Kohli marked his side’s arrival in Sri Lanka ahead of the first Test beginning on July 26 in Galle by reflecting back on India’s 2015 tour, a place that Kohli identified as the start of India’s journey to the No. 1 spot on the ICC’s Test rankings table.
“We still remember for us as a squad after the tour of Australia in 2014-15 that we found ourselves being No. 7 in the world,” Kohli said at a press conference in Colombo. “From then on, the transformation started and I think this particular series in Sri Lanka was the series that gave us belief after being 1-0 down. The victories were hard fought. What it taught us was to come together and come closer as a team and understand our strengths and weaknesses and be defining the roles that we play in Test cricket and take the team higher in the rankings.
“Within 12 or 14 months from Australia, we were the No. 1 side already in the world. We just touched it and then onwards we have solidified it. I still believe in the team and everyone in the team believes and knows that this is where it all started for us. After losing the Test in Galle, which was quite a dent for us mentally, the way the team came together was iconic as far as the last two years are concerned.”
Kohli’s team has arrived in Sri Lanka not just for three Tests as was the case in 2015 but for five ODIs and a one-off T20I. While India were ranked No. 7 at the start of the last Test series two years ago, it is Sri Lanka who now take up that position in the ICC Test rankings. But even though Sri Lanka are not the side they once were, Kohli said they would not take any team lightly.
“We pay equal respect to any opposition because you can be a strong or weak side but the game is the same. You still have to bat and bowl,” Kohli said. “You have to earn your victories. I do feel if you want to win a series in any country in the world you have to play good cricket and have to work very hard for it for which we are ready to do.”
Like Sri Lanka at present, India were at the time going through a transition period. Kohli said that a key point of emphasis heading into the series two years ago that enabled success was to maintain a positive mental approach in spite of the large gap in experience in terms of number of Tests played by the players comprising each country’s starting XI.
“When we started our plans to make a comeback in Test cricket the very first thing we spoke about when we played Sri Lanka was the difference in experience in Test matches between the two sides which was vast,” Kohli said. “Sanga[kkara] was still playing and Angelo [Mathews] was in the side as well. So was Rangana Herath and Dhammika Prasad and all these guys. The team was not even close by the number of Test matches but what we told everyone in the group was what matters is how much you believe more than the opposition.
“You might have played 100 games but if a guy who has played 10 games has more belief than him, he is going to end up doing well on the field. This game gives rewards to people who are brave and who are willing to do the hard yards. It is something we have certainly accepted as a team and worked towards. Transition initially can take a few months but after that it’s all about mentally how much you feel you are ready to be at that level and all that counts.”
Virat Kohli and Sri Lanka’s Upul Tharanga meet ahead of the start of the three-Test series © AFP
Kohli believes the reason that has made India tick as the No. 1 Test team is the professionalism he feels they display at every level.
“You have to respect the game and you have to take care of the fitness levels, be professional in practice, and be professional in the way you prepare for a Test match. You can’t just turn up for a Test match thinking we’ll see how it goes,” Kohli said.
“There’s a lot of preparation, visualisation and hard work that goes into starting off one Test, a series or two. This team takes equal onus of that and the responsibility and that is the only way you can get results. If the players feel they are responsible for what goes on in the field that’s when the professionalism comes out and people start preparing in the background, not many people see but that’s what counts.”
It was only last year that Sri Lanka beat then No. 1 ranked Australia side 3-0. Sri Lanka’s track record at home is something that Kohli and his charges are fully aware of regardless of their overall record of late.
“Sri Lanka is very strong at home and that is something we are aware,” Kohli said. “It is something we will always keep in our minds throughout this tour.”
Newly appointed India coach Ravi Shastri said that his role was to get the players in the frame of mind so as to go out express themselves on the field. For Shastri, it is also a nostalgic return to a place that holds a special place for him during the various stops he has made to the country both during his career and in his various working roles since.
“The first stamp on my passport was Sri Lanka when as an 18-year-old I came as an Under-19 player,” Shastri said. “My first stint as a broadcaster was also in Sri Lanka in 1994 and now my first stint as a coach also happens to be in Sri Lanka. Obviously there is some connection. It’s such a fabulous island with great people and fond memories for me.”
India open their tour with a two-day warm-up game against a Sri Lanka Cricket President’s XI beginning at the CCC grounds on Friday before moving into the three-Test series.
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Source: ESPN Crickinfo