Virat Kohli unhappy with SG ball: Kohli expressed his dissatisfaction with the SG ball and also spoke about the pitch in Hyderabad.

Ahead of the second Test match between India and West Indies at Hyderabad, Indian team has announced the same 12-member squad which named ahead of the first Test, which means that in-form batsman Mayank Agarwal will have to wait more for his Test debut.

Views on the Pitch

On being asked about the pitch in Hyderabad during a pre-match press conference, Kohli expected it to be a good wicket. “It is always going to be a good cricket wicket in Hyderabad. Because of the weather here, the pitch doesn’t wear and tear so much.

“There’s a decent covering of grass on the pitch. The surface is always hard. If you bowl well as a bowler, you can take wickets. If you bat well, you can score runs. That’s always been the true nature of this wicket and something that all cricketers enjoy playing on,” Kohli said.

Views on Newcomers

In their last two Test matches, India have handed debuts to a couple of batsmen, both of whom have done well. On being asked about this wealth of talented reserves on the bench, Kohli was quoted, “They are already exposed to an environment which an international game would replicate. But, there is always pressure of playing for the country. I mean when you wear that jersey for the first time, when you get that cap in the morning of the game, there are always butterflies in your stomach.

“I don’t think it’s as intense as it was was 10-15 years back when you didn’t have any exposure to this level of cricket. I agree to the fact that they have played in situations in the IPL where they play in front of so many people that they are not nervous anymore of the big stage.”

Unhappy with the ball

Post the first Test at Rajkot, Ravichandran Ashwin had expressed variance with the quality of the ball. Kohli also lent support to his premium off-spinner, saying that he agrees with Ashwin on the deteriorating quality of the ball. “To have balls scuffed up in five overs is not something we’ve seen before. The quality of the balls used to be quite high and I don’t understand the reason why it has gone down”, he said.

“A Dukes ball is still a good quality [ball] and a Kookaburra is still [a good quality ball]. There are some limitations that a Kookaburra might have but the quality is never compromised. Even the Dukes ball, I think is the most suited to Test match cricket, according to me.

“If there is a situation, I would vouch for that to be used all over the world because of the consistency of the ball and how the bowlers are always in the game. I think the quality of the ball has to be maintained. So, I totally agree with Ash (Ashwin),” he further said.

Ashwin and Jadeja have been doing well

Kohli was eventually asked about the spinners in the team and perhaps who is likely to feature in the Tests against Australia. He said that both Ashwin and Jadeja remain their premier spinners in the longest format of the game. “Basically, you look at guys putting revs on the ball. That’s something which I feel always works in overseas conditions. Guys who can get the ball to bite off the pitch are the ones who succeed, not just in Indian conditions but overseas as well.

“If you see someone like Moeen, the way he bowls, it’s the pace on the ball that puts you in doubt. I think Ash did that beautifully in England. He bowled quicker than he used to. Jaddu (Jadeja), obviously, is the bowler who has always done that. I think these two guys, we feel our equipped to do the job for us in any conditions. They have identified the areas they need to work on and they have worked on those areas. With our bowling attack, I feel we don’t have those kind of issues as such to find the right balance,” he added.

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