Virat Kohli on Indo-Pak clash: Don’t want to say anything for TRP

Tags: Cricket World Cup 2019, India, Virat Kohli

Published on: Jun 16, 2019

Even as the excitement over the India-Pakistan clash has reached fever pitch, Virat Kohli, in a press conference in Manchester on Saturday said, that the game against Pakistan is just another World Cup match. He added that the atmosphere in the Indian dressing room is also not much different as compared to other games.

“We have literally discussed nothing different. The atmosphere in the dressing room is the same. No one game is more important or more special than the other,” he said.

“The game starts at a certain time tomorrow and ends at a certain time, it won’t be lasting a lifetime. Our tournament doesn’t end tomorrow. The focus always is on the bigger picture,” he further added.

Asked about how the Indian team is preparing to tackle the Pakistan challenge, Kohli stated, “We know they have a lot of talent in their team, but we are focussing on what we need to do. We believe if we play to our best, we can beat any team in the world. The conditions and length of the game will dictate the composition. We are not looking at the opposition to select our XI."

Kohli admitted that although India have gone in with two spinners so far, they have to be flexible with their team combination. Mohammed Shami is yet to get a game in the World Cup. "We have to be flexible in our approach. If the conditions are very different than last game, if pace becomes a more potent option, then we will take a call accordingly," he explained.

The Indian skipper was also asked between the hyped battle between him and Amir. Playing it down, he said, “I don’t want to say anything for TRP. I had spoken about Rabada as well earlier, I just see the ball, whether it’s red or white, it’s not a contest between me and Amir, these are not things that come to mind.”

He however accepted that he can't expect fans to think in a particular manner. “I can’t tell fans to think in a particular manner. We have a professional approach to the game as we can’t get too emotional or over excited. So, mindset of the players will be different from that of fans.

“Our attention span has to be very precise on field. We have that split second to make a decision but from a fans point of view I would say that it’s not easy to think like a player," Kohli further said.

--By A Cricket Correspondent

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