“It depends on the all-rounder,” says Virat Kohli on playing three fast bowlers in NZ

Virat Kohli on playing three fast bowlers in NZ: The Indian captain was vocal about India’s combination for the first ODI at Napier.

After defeating Australia 2-1 for the first time in a bilateral series in Australia, the Indian team will now face another challenge in playing New Zealand in New Zealand. The first of the five-match ODI series will be played tomorrow at Napier.

Despite India coming on the back of a series win, one might get to see them not continuing with the winning combination and making some changes in a bid to prepare for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019.

Interacting with the media during the pre-series press conference, India captain Virat Kohli believed the current Indian team is more experienced than the one which had toured New Zealand previously in 2014.

“We have noticed a lot of patterns from the previous tours here. Back then (2014), we had an inexperienced side in terms of batting but we have evolved in that department in the last three-four years and are definitely ready to conquer all challenges that are thrown at us,” Kohli was quoted as saying.

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Citing the conditions and the grounds, the 30-year old cricketer also expected his players to be calm in situations when the opposition batsmen will post 300+ total on the board. “New Zealand usually has high scoring grounds. So, the key is to not panic when the opposition is racking up scores in excess of 300.

“They are a difficult side to beat at home but we believe in our abilities and will be eyeing a repeat of our results in Australia,” Kohli added.

Being asked about whether India will field three specialist fast bowlers or not in the imminent series, Kohli put it down to the presence of a fast-bowling all-rounder like Vijay Shankar or Hardik Pandya.

“It [playing three specialist fast bowlers] depends on the all-rounder. The strongest sides in the world all have two all-rounders; some even have three. That gives you bowling options to work with. So, unless Hardik Pandya or Vijay Shankar doesn’t play, three seamers make sense. If the all-rounders step up, you don’t need a third seamer,” Kohli concluded.