We are nearly a day away from the start of the first of the five-match Test series between India and England, starting August 1st in Edgbaston.
The opening Test will be a huge opportunity for the visitors to stamp their authority on the English team. They have played some dominant cricket across all three formats of the game in the recent past. Hence, India stands a great chance of claiming a Test series in England after 11 years.
The conditions have been alien for the hosts though. They have experienced their hottest summer in quite some time. A few days back England became the hottest nation in Europe when they recorded more than 36 degrees.
Like the visitors, it will also be a huge opportunity for Indian skipper, Virat Kohli, to contribute to the series. He had a horrendous time when India toured England back in 2014. The India skipper managed to score just 134 runs in ten innings.
Virat Kohli was troubled outside the off stump on a consistent basis by the likes of James Anderson and Stuart Broad.
Virat Kohli is a different player from 2014, says Shastri
However, he is a different player to which he was back in 2014. Since that series, Virat Kohli had had a phenomenal record in the longest format.
He had already smashed six Test double centuries in 17 months. Virat has established himself amongst the top two batsmen in Test cricket. However, there is no doubt about the fact that Kohli needs to score in England to stamp his authority as the best batsman in the world.
Team India head coach, Ravi Shastri during an exclusive interview with ESPN Cricinfo said Kohli had matured quite a lot as a batsman since the 2014 series.
“Look at his record. I don’t have to spell out what he has done in the last four years. When you perform in that fashion, you are mentally at a different level as well. You are waiting for whatever test comes your way. Yes, he might have had an ordinary series when he came here four years ago. But four years down the line he is the best player in the world. And he would like to get out there and show the British public why he is the best player in the world,” Shastri said.
Ravi Shastri says since the start of the UK tour he has not told Kohli a single word on his different batting positions and sessions. He has just asked him to hit the ball from the top of his blade.
Kohli knows his game: Shastri
“He knows his game. It is just about re-emphasising certain little things which you see and basically keeping things simple. Not creating things that don’t exist. That is one thing I believe in my coaching. I don’t try to fix something that is not broken. If he wants to try something different, we are always around to have a chat,” the head coach said.
During the interview, Ravi was asked whether the mode of dismissals could have been avoided in the practice game against Essex.
“That happens. Probably in a Test match, his focus would be three times more. He would have been a lot more disappointed if he had got out in that fashion in a Test match because he had hardly put a foot wrong. In that entire innings, when the ball was doing quite a bit, he was beaten just three times. I would rather have him get out here than get out in a Test match in a similar fashion,” he stated.