ZCZC
BSP-07
CRICKET-IND-NZL-KOHLI
India’s Kohli not yet ready to ease workload
WELLINGTON, Feb 19, 2020 (BSS/AFP) – Virat Kohli admitted Wednesday that
captaining India in all three cricketing formats was gruelling but insisted
he was not yet ready to ease his leadership burden.
Speaking ahead of the opening Test against New Zealand in Wellington on
Friday, Kohli, 31, said stepping back was on his mind, but not for a few
years.
“It’s not a conversation to hide away from,” he told reporters. “It’s been
about eight years now that I’ve been playing almost 300 days a year.
“With the travelling, practice sessions and the intensity being right up
there all the time, it does take a toll on you.”
Asked about fellow players who had dropped one or more forms of the game in
order to extend their careers, Kohli replied: “I’m not in that space at the
moment.”
“Periodic breaks for me seem to work pretty OK,” he added. “At a time when
the body doesn’t respond as well, maybe at around 34, 35, you might have a
different conversation, but for the next two or three years I have no
issues.”
Kohli, who took over the Test captaincy in late 2014, said he wanted to
ensure the Indian team was in a good place when he finally relaxed his grip
on the reins.
“The team wants a lot of my contribution in the next two or three years, so
that we can ease into another transition, which is what we faced about five
or six years ago,” he said.
“The mindset is obviously on the larger picture and from that point of
view, I am preparing myself for a rigorous three years.”
Kohli backed rookie opening batsmen Mayank Agarwal and Prithvi Shaw to
shine at Wellington’s Basin Reserve, where India have not won a Test since
1968.
“These guys have no baggage, they’re not desperate in any way to perform
here,” he said.
“They play with a fearlessness that can motivate the whole team and give us
the kind of starts we want.”
Kohli expected the notorious Wellington wind to play a role in the match,
saying it had to be carefully considered when weighing up bowling options.
“Wind in this stadium more than any other in the world plays a massive,
massive role,” he said.
BSS/AFP/MSY/1141 hrs