'We should operate at very high levels of fitness' - Virat Kohli on Varun Chakravarthy's failure in fitness test

Varun Chakravarthy is probably the unluckiest cricketer in the Indian team currently. After an impressive season of IPL with Kolkata Knight Riders, he got a call-up for the Indian T20 squad for the Australian tour, but a shoulder injury ruled him out of that series. Now, ahead of the England T20I series at home, he has failed to pass the yo-yo Test. 

In the pre-series press conference, Indian captain Virat Kohli talked about Chakravarthy’s fitness issues. The 32-year-old was assertive in making his statement. He talked about how it is important for each and every player to make sure that they have a certain amount of fitness. Kohli made his point clearly stating that the team has set high standards for themselves. 

We should operate at very high levels of fitness: Virat Kohli 

“Look individuals need to understand the systems that have been created for the Indian cricket team. We should operate at very high levels of fitness and skills and that’s why this (India team) is top of the ladder when playing cricket, in our country. We would expect players to abide by what’s required to be a part of Team India. There shouldn’t be space for any compromise, in that regard,” Kohli said in the press conference ahead of the T20I series which starts on Friday. 

The Indian captain also talked about the inclusions of certain players. The captain was clear about the changes the team is looking to make in order to prepare themselves for a big ICC tournament. India will host the ICC T20 World Cup later this year and the team will be starting as favourites for the tournament. India has added some new faces to the T20I teams such as Ishan Kishan and Suryakumar Yadav. 

“We have played with a certain kind of pattern in the past. We did not have a big tournament to work towards in the past. If you look at the squad, the additions we have made we have tried to address a few things we needed in specific,” Kohli said while making a point of the inclusion of players like Yadav and Kishan.