Kohli promises opportunities for India young guns

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Cricket365
November 26, 2020

India skipper Virat Kohli says that the team will have one eye on the future throughout their tour of Australia.

Australia host India in the first international of the tour on Friday 27 November; and ODI at the SCG.

Kohli says young guns will get their shot

Kohli has hinted that the younger players in the team will be used extensively and could feature in the first ODI of the series.

“We are looking at giving opportunities to younger players. There are a lot of young guys in the squad who are eager and really waiting to get onto the park and play in a place like Australia,” Kohli said.

“It’s a great opportunity for them to realise something new about their own games and how they can take their games to the next level and grow that confidence level and keep helping the team going forward.

“So from that point of view, yes, it is a very important series for them as individuals to grow and for us as the management group and the captain to give them that opportunity to go out there and play to the best of their abilities and play freely and enjoy their cricket. We’re definitely looking forward to seeing these guys on the field and how they shape up because they’re a bunch of very talented guys.”

Young quicks to get their chances

India’s young quicks will have plenty of work to do according to the skipper who said that lead bowlers Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami will need to have their workload managed.

“It’s a no-brainer [managing Bumrah and Shami’s workloads],” Kohli said. “They’ve gone through a full IPL season as well. Both of them have bowled beautifully, bowling in great rhythm. It’ll be very important to monitor the workload and hence the point about some of the younger guys getting a chance comes into play as well.

“We want to see how people react in different situations because you’re up against a different situation every time you come for an India tour. You have to manage workloads, you have to look forward to the youngsters performing on the field. So there’s a fine balance you need to maintain, something we’ve been able to do well in the last few years and that’s why our bowlers have been fit and available for the important matches – most of the time – for us.”