Virat Kohli says playing three spinners very much possible

Virat Kohli says playing three spinners very much possible: With MS Dhoni no more a part of the Indian eleven in whites, we are set to see a more aggressive approach when the Indian team tours Sri Lanka to play a three Test series starting August 12. Over the past few years the Test team has been widely criticised for playing with a defensive-minded. Skipper Virat Kohli on Monday gave enough hints of how his team will be anything but that.

Speaking to reporters ahead of the team’s departure for Sri Lanka Kohli said there is a need to play with a stronger bowling side and the team can field up to three spinners in upcoming series against the Lankans. “Ashwin and Harbajan are also good with the bat, Ashwin averages 40 in Tests. I don’t see any reason why he can’t be a better all-rounder. You need to play a stronger bowling side to win Tests, he said. The right-handed aggressive batsman did not see any problem with opener Murali Vijay’s fitness and felt happy that there is a good contest for the opening slot as the ‘problem of plenty is not bad’.”

Queried about Indian pacemen not getting wickets, the 26-year-old said that the team would play to a plan and if it does not work then plan B would be applied. According to Virat, focussing on India’s previous performances in Sri Lanka would actually add pressure and not any value. “It is an opportunity to have certain plans to prepare for a particular series and actually continuously do the same things over the period of three Test matches, it is very exciting for me as a captain and for us as a squad as well. Whatever ideas we come up with and plans we make, we have a lot of time to execute those plans and see where we stand.” he said.

He also stressed upon playing an aggressive brand of cricket as captain and a batsman; a quality that he believes would help the team achieve the desired results. He also said Rohit Sharma’s role in the batting order will prove to be pivotal in the team’s success.

Describing Rohit as an ‘impact’ player at the top of the order, he said “Rohit bats up the order in ODIs and was batting at No.6 at one stage when it came to Test cricket. That was way off the kind of setup that he had in ODI cricket. We play so much ODI cricket that as a batsman you want to bat closer to one particular position in both formats. We figured out Rohit is an impact player and to get his best it was wise to make him bat at the top. He has done well in Australia when he batted at 3. I think he needs to get more opportunity there. Once he settles down in that spot, he could be that catalyst we need in the middle order who can keep the scoring rate going. He is so naturally gifted.”

Hinting at having three tweakers in the side Kohli said: “That could be a big possibility. The idea is to take twenty wickets. That is the only way you can win a Test match, the whole idea of the five bowler theory is that the top six have to take up more responsibility. We have people like R Ashwin, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, and Harbhajan singh who are very handy with the bat. Ashwin averages forty in Test match cricket and I don’t see any reason why he cannot be that all-rounder for us.”

Kohli had recently turned out for India A in the second unofficial Test, against Australia A, in Chennai, where he looked in good touch despite managing only 61 across both innings.