Kohli and Kumble make sure that injuries don't hurt India

Virat Kohli and coach Anil Kumble have adopted the horses for courses policy in the recent past. This has helped the team to negotiate with injuries and fitness more efficiently. As we have seen in recent times, a pool of talent is always ready to replace any injured players.

This shows the depth of India’s bench strength. This is also the reason why the growing list of unavailable players through injury or ailment hasn’t really affected India’s performance in the ongoing Test series against New Zealand. Kohli, stressing on the inability to prevent injuries in a “physical sport” like cricket, has made it clear that the depth of talent around has ensured that the team will not push even marginally unfit players into playing a match in a gruelling season of Test cricket.

“The good thing is that we are able to recognise them (injuries) early, we are able to give them time to come back as soon as possible, with good rehab, good recovery, and good rest,” Kohli told reporters on the eve of Indore’s maiden Test.

“Because it’s a long season, it’s important to address those things rather than push someone in at 70-80 percent, and losing him for the whole season.

“These things are part of everything… the good thing is that the others stepping in are taking that positively as an opportunity and that as a team it is very important, not to feel disheartened but to take the replacements as an opportunity for them.”

The visiting contingent is no different. In fact, Kane Willamson’s face lit up more when he said he had the full squad available for selection for the first time in the series than saying he was “certainly very positive” of taking the field on Saturday, having missed the last Test due to a viral fever.

Williamson’s presence will be a big boost to New Zealand’s batting so that it can post a decent total in its first innings. He had no qualms in admitting that falling short on that count was one of the main reasons their defeats in both the Tests.

“It is one of those fine lines where there have been some good bits, but the good bits haven’t happened for long enough. Those 240-250 scores need to be 300-350.

“In saying that we are still to see this wicket, it might be more or it might be less, we don’t know just yet.

“But certainly the last two games if we could have pushed up our first innings total that little bit further it would have helped us out a huge amount,” he said.