Gurkeerat Mann Singh has earned call-up: Virat Kohli
By Express News Service
Bangalore, November 13
India captain Virat Kohli heaped praise on young Gurkeerat Mann Singh, for his recent run of form in domestic cricket, saying the batting all-rounder ‘brings balance’ to the side and fits into the future scheme of things in the senior team. Excerpts from a media interaction on Friday:
On Gurkeerat’s inclusion
He (Gurkeerat) has earned his call-up. He certainly fits in scheme of things and don’t be surprised if you see him playing soon. I wish him all the luck. I can’t put a particular time when but he has ability with the bat at that No.6 or No.7 position. He is a very dangerous, instinctive player, who can take the game away from opposition. He (Gurkeerat) is also bowling well but he is primarily a batsman. He is working very hard on his bowling. He has earned this call up. Because, these type of cricketers bring balance that is very important to the team’s cause as we will be playing a lot of Test matches in the sub-continent in next year and half.
On Mohali pitch controversy
It’s only disappointing if you are looking to take what is written or said to heart, or think about it too much. We focus on the process and don’t really think about what’s being written or what’s being said. The fact of the matter is we won a Test match and that’s what we feel good about as a team.
On AB de Villiers’ 100th Test
I want to congratulate him on playing his 100th Test. As an individual, I know him well. He’s a very genuine and good person. As an opponent he plays hard cricket. As a batsman, he’s among the top 4-5 batsmen in the world. I cannot say much more than that. His game and the kind of person he is are there for all to see.
On less crowd turnout
It doesn’t really make us sad that we won’t have so many people turning up to watch this Test match. Obviously, you like playing in front of full stadiums and full crowds but eventually you are focusing on the ball that is bowled to you and as a bowler you are focusing on the ball that you have to bowl. We hope we get more number of people to watch this Test match because it is an exciting series, it is between two exciting and very strong teams.
On the team’s mindset
There is no change in mindset. There might be lessons learnt from mistakes. That day in Adelaide, we were looking to win a Test match and we will do so in Bangalore as well. Mindset remains same but you sit down and figure out the mistakes, you keep on correcting them as you go along. Similarly, when you are batting, the mindset does not change but you correct your mistakes and move along.
On Vijay and Pujara
We all are very proud of both of them, the way they batted in the last game. We can learn a lot from them in the way they applied themselves. Our batsmen didn’t apply themselves as much as we wanted to as a batting group and we are aware of that. But not taking credit away from the way both of them batted. I think they kept us in the game throughout and that is very important I think, two guys standing up in each innings. Their contributions in both the innings were very crucial to us.
On weather conditions
It does play a part as specially knowing that you might not have full game time. You need to make changes and the team management and myself have spoken about it. We will make the necessary changes according to what weather looks like and keep all factors in mind before picking a squad for Test.
