On the eve of first One-Day International against England at Pune, India skipper Virat Kohli – while briefing to media persons – stated that they have just three games to prepare before picking the right combination, which will face a huge challenge in the upcoming Champions Trophy in England.
“We you have only three games to prepare for a big tournament [Champions Trophy] I think you need to get all your resources in place,” Kohli said in a press conference when asked about the batting line up and preparations for Champions Trophy which is scheduled in June this year.
After defeating New Zealand 3-2 in the five-match ODI series in October last year, India is ready to lock horns with visitors in the first day-night ODI game on Sunday (tomorrow) at Pune.
“I think at the international level, no game is a trial game. I don’t believe in that. I think you’re up there to play and win every game that you play. But these three games we’re necessarily taking them as knockout games in our own heads, because need to prepare for Champions Trophy and need to be in the right mind frame, because that tournament is like that,” Kohli said.
Having a well-balanced side for the three-match ODI series against England, Kohli has urged the team will go out with a positive frame of mind while preparing for the major tournament.
“It’s very competitive… It’s very quick. So we need to be at our best from game one in this series for us to get mentally prepared,” he added.
“We would like to go in the big tournament where you’ve strong top-order, middle-order and lower middle-order to the bowlers. These three games become all more crucial and we are not going to experiment much with anything,” Kohli further added.
The right-handed batsman Kohli has expressed that he’s all ready to take the responsibility after Mahendra Singh Dhoni relinquished the limited-overs captaincy on January 4.
“We are going to find the right combination [against England] from the game one then stick to it for the Champions Trophy. You need to make sure that the guys you pick are in a good form and momentum,” Kohli added.
“So right now you don’t have the time to nurture that one spot as such. Because there’s a big tournament coming in your way,” he said when asked about the concern related to middle-order and injury woes in the side.
After becoming number one in Test cricket, Kohli aims to give his best in ODIs to carry on the momentum in the 50-over game.
Kohli has hinted that the left-handed batsman Yuvraj Singh will be retained for Champions Trophy after his decent performance for Punjab in the first-class cricket, where he scored 673 runs in the ongoing season of Ranji Trophy.
“That is why Yuvraj [Singh] has been brought into the team – to guide the youngsters in the side alongside Mahendra Singh Dhoni,” he concluded.