Kumble wants boring bowling

India coach, Anil Kumble, has called on his bowlers to show consistency and be 'boring', while asking his batsman to show patience as they shift from limited overs formats, into the longer form of the game for four Tests against the West Indies.

Kumble's Indian squad haven't played a lot of cricket in the longer form of the game, the IPL concluded at the end of May, and MS Dhoni led a young squad on a tour of Zimbabwe, where India played three ODIs and three T20Is.

Responding to fan questions in a Twitter Q & A, Kumble said: In the bowling department, we will be focusing on consistent lengths and being boring.

"That's what we need to do when playing Test cricket. The emphasis will also be on the catching as they are important to win the games."

The former leg spinner believes his batsman need to shift their mindest to a more patient one, saying: "We are focusing at changing the mindset of batsmen in terms of coming from shorter format into a longer format and the batting time as it is important to bat for a longer duration."

The India boss is a firm believer that bowler's need to work in pairs, and form bowling partnerships: "I believe that bowlers also bowl in partnerships like batsmen play in partnership.

"Spinners and fast bowlers will have an equal role. The wickets have so far been on the slower side but I don't know what kind of wickets will be in the four Test matches. Indian spinners will have an important role to play for us to win the series."

Kumble has indicated that India will focus on all three key disciplines, while also paying close attention to fitness and conditioning: "In Test cricket all three departments will be tested that's why it is called test of character of all the three departments, so focus is on all three,

"What is also important is rest period or the recovery period. Other than the three departments we are also concentrating on the fitness and the recovery period."

India take on the West Indies in the first Test in Antigua on Thursday.

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