Calcutta: How many bowlers does one need to win a Test match, four of five? It has been a long-standing debate and most of the India's former captains felt comfortable with four bowlers in their XI. But Virat Kohli has been willing take the less-trodden route.
Kohli prefers playing five bowlers and he is not shy in saying so.
On the eve of India's opening Test against Sri Lanka, Kohli, at the media conference, once again made his stand clear.
"The basic idea is to take 20 wickets... That's the only way you can win a game. The idea of playing five bowlers is pretty clear... Someone like (Wriddhiman) Saha, who is looking to cement his place in the side, or (Ravichandran) Ashwin who we are looking at as an all-rounder rather than a bowler who can bat, can do the job," Kohli said on Tuesday, clearly indicating that India will be going in with five bowlers in the Galle Test.
"But the responsibility is on the top five batsmen to score the bulk of the runs so that they can take the pressure off these two till the time they feel comfortable and get going in this format," he explained, not wanting to put any pressure on Saha or Ashwin.
"The responsibility is spread equally among all five specialist batsmen... It's not more or less on any one player," he further added.
A lot of focus will be on Lokesh Rahul and Rohit Sharma. While Rahul will have to fill in Murali Vijay's shoes as an opener, Rohit is yet to prove his Test merit. Kohli believes both are hungry to do well.
"Rahul is batting brilliantly... He is hitting the ball really well and he got a hundred in Australia. It was sad for him to miss out in Bangladesh. He is hungry to go, someone who really wants to do well and has great attitude.
"Rohit too wants to do really well in this format. I think the most important thing for any cricketer is the hunger and after that it's all about the execution which is basically how you apply yourself," he said.
Speaking about his first three-Test series as the captain, Kohli said: "It is my first full series. It's a great opportunity to create some momentum, knowing it's a three-Test series... Having some plan in mind, having the opportunity and time to execute them," Kohli said.
"As a captain, you always need more time with the team, more games to play and better chances of creating an environment that you require the team to be in. So I am very excited," he added.
About opponents, the Lankans, Kohli said: "They are a very competitive team. They might not be as expressive as some of the other teams in the world, but the kind of aggression they have in their body language is pretty evident."
"Sri Lanka are always right up there... You might not count them as the favourites when the tournament starts, but they are always in the semis or the finals. That's a credit to their attitude and the kind of intensity they bring onto the field," Kohli said.
Asked if the Indian team has any specific plans for Kumar Sangakkara, who will retire after the second Test, Kohli said: "The plan has always been pretty basic. Against good quality players around the world, you don't need to try something out of the box. It's about creating pressure.
"In the last one-day series we played in India, we had one or two plans against him that worked for us. The guys are quite confident about executing those plans.
"He is someone who scores consistently and can get big runs. It's his last two games and he would like to leave a very significant mark before he goes. So it will be good to get him out early. But it's not going to be easy," Kohli said.
India's preparations, however, suffered a blow as their pre-match practice session was washed out owing to heavy rains, and even on Monday, their session had been disturbed by the rain, leaving the three-day tour match in Colombo as the only proper workout before the first Test.
But Kohli doesn't seem to be too worried. "The guys are looking in good shape and everyone is mentally fresh. So it's not going to make much difference. I see it as a positive where people will have the time to visualise, relax and prepare for the game with the mental aspect than putting those extra hours in practice."
The weather forecast of persistent cloud cover and rain throughout the week doesn't add to the excitement, but then such a thing is expected at this time of the year, in this part of the world.
Teams
India (likely): Lokesh Rahul, Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, Wriddhiman Saha, Ravichandran Ashwin, Harbhajan Singh, Ishant Sharma, Varun Aaron, Umesh Yadav
Sri Lanka (from): Angelo Mathews, Lahiru Thirimanne, Kaushal Silva, Dimuth Karunaratne, Kumar Sangakkara, Dinesh Chandimal, Upul Tharanga, Jehan Mubarak, Kusal Perera, Rangana Herath, Dilruwan Perera, Tharindu Kaushal, Nuwan Pradeep, Dhammika Prasad, Vishwa Fernando, Dushmantha Chameera (subject to fitness).
Match starts : 10am (IST).
