If I have a chance would love to play county cricket: Virat Kohli

Indian skipper Virat Kohli has scored 630 runs in the four Tests of the ongoing series against England, he has a double century, a century and a couple of fifties to his name. But given that the runs have come at home and the fact that he failed on the last tour of England critics believe he needs to score runs in tough conditions to be termed a complete player.

Team India will tour England for a Test series only in 2018 and the skipper wants to make a short county stint ahead of it to get a feel of the wickets. Talking to the media during the pre-match press conference Virat said, “If I have chance, I would love to be there. Say a month or a month-and-a-half before the tour. Get used to playing conditions and understand how the wickets behave in that phase of the year. I think these things matter a lot. I have been thinking about and take time out to play there,” he said.

They have already won the series 3-0 and the last Test is sort of a dead rubber in the context of the series but the Indian team is preparing for the game like they did for any other match in the series. “We take one game at a time. We are not looking at the complete series. Every game is separate from the other. Every game we have the same intensity even if the series is won, drawn or lost. We are not looking at a scoreline as such. It takes a lot of hard-work to win a Test and a series as well. It is all about the process like it has been in the past,” Virat said.

The one stand out feature for this team has been the contribution of the lower order with the likes of Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja and Jayant Yadav scoring half centuries and centuries at crucial juncture. There has been a lot of emphasis on the bowlers understanding their responsibility with the bat as well.

“Contributions with bat has been outstanding. Haven’t taking anything from me to motivate them. Ashwin has set a bench mark for other spinners to contribute with bat as well. Jadeja did it in Mohali. Jayant as well as he gets inspired seeing Ashwin the way he improves his cricket. He has always been a key learner. You see all the fast bowlers, Mohammed Shami, Bhuvneshwar and even Umesh have improved with the bat and they understand the importance of these runs. Amit Mishra has done well whenever he has played. As a captain this gives you freedom to play five batsmen rather than thinking of playing another batsman. I give them credit for contributing with the bat,” he said.

In the last inning he didn’t go behind the English spinners and was cautious to not take too many risks. “It’s a conscious effort to curb my aggression. I feel the urge to go after the spinners but I also understand that I have to be there for a hour or two more. I also think there is no need to hit sixes. It is just the excitement of the player reach a 150 or 160 to express himself. I can rotate strike and not big risk and cost the team some momentum because we have decided to play five batsmen then it is my responsibility to play according to plan and not according to what I want. It’s about understanding what the team needs and you need to adjust according to that,” Virat explained.

He also praised off-spinner Jayant Yadav and his contribution to the team in his young career. “Ashwin and Jadeja are the front runners when we want to club the runs by creating the pressure and whenever we require a wicket alongwith the fast bowlers. Jayant comes in and has his plans. He has lot of control over his bowling. He rushes the ball and doesn’t give the batsman time to adjust. He has the revs on his deliveries and also the strength in his shoulders that allows that. Grame Swann was very similar. Pace control was magnificent without giving too much air. As a captain I know that the third bowler is someone the batsmen cannot go after. And that is when Jayant comes into play,” Virat said.