Gambhir to play third Test, confirms Virat Kohli
India have already won the series, but the third Test at Indore against New Zealand will not be any less important for both teams. A win will ensure India open up a small lead at the top of the International Cricket Council (ICC) Test Rankings, while New Zealand will be desperate to pull one back and give themselves a win under the belt.
India go into the Test having come under a barrage of injuries to deal with - Shikhar Dhawan, KL Rahul, Ishant Sharma and Bhuvneshwar Kumar. A new-look opening combination will be seen when the players take the field on Saturday (October 8) with Virat Kohli confirming that Gautam Gambhir will partner Murali Vijay at the top of the order. It's also the first ever Test at Indore and the frenzy to be a part of that occasion has hit cricket fans in the city.
The India captain addressed the press a day before the final Test against New Zealand, and spoke about team changes, dealing with injuries and his own form.
You played a match-defining knock in the second innings at Kolkata but centuries have been hard to come by. Are you concerned?
I'm not. I think this is just a way to write in the public, to manufacture stuff to write. I don't think about those things. I just want to do my best whenever I enter the field. And score as many as possible. Basically, the team should benefit from it. I don't think about these things. I used to, earlier but when I can't control somebody's expectation, I look to control what I do on the field.
Can we assume that Gautam Gambhir will open the innings?
Yes, that's the natural change because of Shikhar Dhawan's injury. That is a natural replacement in the team because he is the third opener.
What are the lessons that you've learnt as a skipper in the four series victories?
One thing that stands out for me as a learning is how to control a session that's not going your way. I think that is very, very important. When your are taking wickets, you can afford to attack. But when you are not taking wickets, how to stop runs and still maintain enough pressure for you to come in the session and make breakthroughs. That's something very important which I've experienced in the four series I've captained.
This a very, very important time in a Test match. The session when the other team is batting well, you should know how to control runs and at the same time not go negative. There is very thin line, which I think, if you maintain more often than not, you will come back in the next session and pull things back. That is the biggest learning. Not to go one-dimensional when runs are scored and the other team is batting well.
This is the first Test at Indore. Your thoughts?
I think it's a proud moment for Indore to be staging a Test match - for the people, the fans, the association. I want to congratulate them. It's a very good stadium and the pitch is also a good one.
I've seen the pitch and it's a good one. It is like a normal Indore wicket. The wicket seems like a hard surface and I think batsmen and bowlers will both get good help. If you bowl well, you should get wickets and if you bat well, you should get runs.
A word on Mohammad Shami and the need to manage workload...
It's very important to manage workload, especially for your fast bowlers. For the One-day matches, they've been given rest because it's a long Test season and we need the bowlers fresh. At the same time, it's an opportunity for the others to prove themselves.
Shami is someone who's come back very well, he's worked very hard on his fitness as well. You can see he's able to bowl those five-six over spells now and he can run in... bigger momentum and then he can pick up two wickets on any surface. That's the kind of skill he has, so as captain, I feel that he's a very important bowler for us in this full season and in future, as well. But looking at the near future, his fitness and rhythm is very, very important. As you said, he's a strike bowler and whenever he comes in, he makes something regardless of the surface that we're playing on.
Any plans on how to handle the weather here?
No sir, we don't make plans after looking at those things. These things apply more for the shorter formats, in which a 20-over game can be reduced to 10 or 15 overs, or a One-day game can be reduced to a 30-over match. In Test matches, in a five-day match, if you lose even a little time for play, you can't change the combination. There's a lot of time to play the game. These things are not in our control... We can do only what's in our control, the preparations we do. If the weather interferes, obviously one doesn't like it, but you never prepare according to that.
How much a concern is the growing list of injuries?
See, injuries are something that even the fittest of people can encounter. What happened to Shikhar wasn't a fitness issue, it was just a blow on the thumb. In this sport, which is quite physical, you can get injuries at different times. The good thing is that we are able to recognise them early, we are able to give them time to come back as soon as possible, with good rehab, good recovery, good rest. Because it's a long season, it's important to address those things rather than pushing in someone at 70-80 percent, and losing him for the whole season. These things are part of everything... the good thing is that the others stepping in are positively, taking that as an opportunity and that as a team is very important, not to feel disheartened but to take the replacements as an opportunity for them.
You're 2-0 ahead, but do you see any shortcomings?
Shortcoming... We're playing good cricket because we're making few mistakes and are able to win matches. Along the way, the shortcomings that we have, we address them within the team and correct them. I don't think it's fair on the team to talk about that publicly. That's our responsibility that the positives and negatives that we have, we should discuss them in the team and solve them. If we bring everything out in the open, then everyone will get to know what the plans are, what areas we're working on. We have to work on all that internally, to become a good team. We have been doing that on a regular basis.
India go into the Test having come under a barrage of injuries to deal with - Shikhar Dhawan, KL Rahul, Ishant Sharma and Bhuvneshwar Kumar. A new-look opening combination will be seen when the players take the field on Saturday (October 8) with Virat Kohli confirming that Gautam Gambhir will partner Murali Vijay at the top of the order. It's also the first ever Test at Indore and the frenzy to be a part of that occasion has hit cricket fans in the city.
The India captain addressed the press a day before the final Test against New Zealand, and spoke about team changes, dealing with injuries and his own form.
Excerpts:
You played a match-defining knock in the second innings at Kolkata but centuries have been hard to come by. Are you concerned?
I'm not. I think this is just a way to write in the public, to manufacture stuff to write. I don't think about those things. I just want to do my best whenever I enter the field. And score as many as possible. Basically, the team should benefit from it. I don't think about these things. I used to, earlier but when I can't control somebody's expectation, I look to control what I do on the field.
Can we assume that Gautam Gambhir will open the innings?
Yes, that's the natural change because of Shikhar Dhawan's injury. That is a natural replacement in the team because he is the third opener.
What are the lessons that you've learnt as a skipper in the four series victories?
One thing that stands out for me as a learning is how to control a session that's not going your way. I think that is very, very important. When your are taking wickets, you can afford to attack. But when you are not taking wickets, how to stop runs and still maintain enough pressure for you to come in the session and make breakthroughs. That's something very important which I've experienced in the four series I've captained.
This a very, very important time in a Test match. The session when the other team is batting well, you should know how to control runs and at the same time not go negative. There is very thin line, which I think, if you maintain more often than not, you will come back in the next session and pull things back. That is the biggest learning. Not to go one-dimensional when runs are scored and the other team is batting well.
This is the first Test at Indore. Your thoughts?
I think it's a proud moment for Indore to be staging a Test match - for the people, the fans, the association. I want to congratulate them. It's a very good stadium and the pitch is also a good one.
I've seen the pitch and it's a good one. It is like a normal Indore wicket. The wicket seems like a hard surface and I think batsmen and bowlers will both get good help. If you bowl well, you should get wickets and if you bat well, you should get runs.
A word on Mohammad Shami and the need to manage workload...
It's very important to manage workload, especially for your fast bowlers. For the One-day matches, they've been given rest because it's a long Test season and we need the bowlers fresh. At the same time, it's an opportunity for the others to prove themselves.
Shami is someone who's come back very well, he's worked very hard on his fitness as well. You can see he's able to bowl those five-six over spells now and he can run in... bigger momentum and then he can pick up two wickets on any surface. That's the kind of skill he has, so as captain, I feel that he's a very important bowler for us in this full season and in future, as well. But looking at the near future, his fitness and rhythm is very, very important. As you said, he's a strike bowler and whenever he comes in, he makes something regardless of the surface that we're playing on.
Any plans on how to handle the weather here?
No sir, we don't make plans after looking at those things. These things apply more for the shorter formats, in which a 20-over game can be reduced to 10 or 15 overs, or a One-day game can be reduced to a 30-over match. In Test matches, in a five-day match, if you lose even a little time for play, you can't change the combination. There's a lot of time to play the game. These things are not in our control... We can do only what's in our control, the preparations we do. If the weather interferes, obviously one doesn't like it, but you never prepare according to that.
How much a concern is the growing list of injuries?
See, injuries are something that even the fittest of people can encounter. What happened to Shikhar wasn't a fitness issue, it was just a blow on the thumb. In this sport, which is quite physical, you can get injuries at different times. The good thing is that we are able to recognise them early, we are able to give them time to come back as soon as possible, with good rehab, good recovery, good rest. Because it's a long season, it's important to address those things rather than pushing in someone at 70-80 percent, and losing him for the whole season. These things are part of everything... the good thing is that the others stepping in are positively, taking that as an opportunity and that as a team is very important, not to feel disheartened but to take the replacements as an opportunity for them.
You're 2-0 ahead, but do you see any shortcomings?
Shortcoming... We're playing good cricket because we're making few mistakes and are able to win matches. Along the way, the shortcomings that we have, we address them within the team and correct them. I don't think it's fair on the team to talk about that publicly. That's our responsibility that the positives and negatives that we have, we should discuss them in the team and solve them. If we bring everything out in the open, then everyone will get to know what the plans are, what areas we're working on. We have to work on all that internally, to become a good team. We have been doing that on a regular basis.
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