I am not a robot. You can slice my skin and check, I bleed: Virat Kohli

Indian captain Virat Kohli addressed the media ahead of the 1st Test match against Sri Lanka, which will be starting tomorrow (16th November). Kohli spoke on certain subjects including the series against the Lankans, as well as the away tour to South Africa. There have been a lot of talks about players being rested from time to time and Kohli had an answer for almost everything.

The 29-year-old cricketer told the media that there is a certain way in which the team management manages the workload of the cricketers. He said that not every cricketer bowls 30 overs in a Test match but those who have been shouldering the workload on most occasions, should get rest from time to time.

Talking to the reporters, Kohli said “Look, this is one thing which people don’t explain properly. There are a lot of talks from the outside in terms of workload whether the player should be rested or not. For example, all cricketers play 40 international games in a year. Three guys who should get rest, their workload should be managed. 11 players play the game and not everyone would have batted for 45 overs in an ODI or not everyone would have bowled 30 overs in a Test match. But, the guys who are doing that regularly are the ones who need to be assessed because the body takes so much time to recover and needs rest as well.”

He went on to say that generally, people don’t analyze certain key points, like the conditions and etc. “People only look into this like everyone has played 40 games. They don’t look at the time spent at the crease, the numbers of runs ran, the number of overs bowled by the bowlers, what were the conditions, what were the temperatures like, whether the body is recovered or not. I don’t think people look into that analysis. From the outside, it looks like why are few players not rested? Everyone played the same number of games. But, not everyone has the same kind of workload in every game.”

Strong core of 20-25 players

He stressed on the importance of maintaining the balance in the team, by giving rest to players from time to time. The skipper also said that the management doesn’t want important players to suffer from injuries ahead of important fixtures. “Now that we have such a strong core of 20-25 players, you don’t want important players to break down at crucial times and that is where you need to maintain the balance especially with the guys who play all the three formats. It is almost impossible to maintain the same intensity and the level of performance like what you do in the earlier phase of the season. I think those details are very important when you are managing one’s workload,” he said.

He was quizzed whether he will need rest, considering the fact that he has played the majority of the games across all three formats for India in the recent past. “Definitely, I do need a rest. Why don’t I need a rest? When I think of the time that my body should be rested, I will ask for it. I am not a robot. You can slice my skin and check. I bleed.”