India skipper Virat Kohli is back in the team after taking a maternity leave after the first Test match against Australia. Against Australia, India registered a historic win in the Test series under the captaincy of Ajinkya Rahane. Ahead of India-England Test series that begins on 5 February, Kohli referred to his equation with Rahane to be of trust and mutual respect.
“Things are very different from outside compared to what happens inside the dressing room. Not just between me and him (Rahane) but the whole team, camaraderie is based on trust. It was amazing to see how he led the team to win in Australia. It’s the mutual respect, bonding, on and off the field. The partnership will remain the same as ever.”
The skipper also resolved the mystery on who will be behind the stumps during the first Test against the England.
Kohli spoke on Rishabh Pant ahead of Chennai Test, “Rishabh will take the gloves tomorrow. He has had impact performances in Australia recently. He is in good space. We want him to build on this along with him improving all aspects of the game, which will happen with more game time.
“He has come along very nicely. He wasn’t part of white ball formats, but he kept working hard on his fitness, on his games. We have backed him quite a lot and for good reason – something you saw in Australia.
He will continue to be backed. With his hard work he can be a very consistent match winner and someone the opposition will be wary of in the future.”
Further, Kohli spoke on the unavailability of Ravindra Jadeja due to injury. And, stressed on including players who can give an all-round support. He said that players who can give additional batting support along with bowling will get the preference.
Furthermore, Kohli spoke on the pitch at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, “The pitch is a normal Chepauk pitch. It’s a nice batting track with spinners getting assistance. But the track is good enough for fast bowlers to stay in the game also, so generally it is a good cricketing wicket.”