Before departing for England where the 2019 World Cup will be played, Indian Cricket team captain Virat Kohli spoke to media about India’s World Cup campaign.
Virat Kohli will be playing his third World Cup, but first as captain. Kohli has scored 587 runs in 17 World Cup matches. India is favourite to win the World Cup.
“This will probably the most challenging World Cup out of all the World Cups I have been part of looking at the format. The focus will be to play the best cricket we can play. If we do that, we will be on the right side of the result every time,” Kohli told the media on Tuesday in Mumbai.
This will be the most challenging World Cup: @imVkohli #TeamIndia ??? pic.twitter.com/1weUxbl2hn
— BCCI (@BCCI) May 21, 2019
“Try and be as normal as possible. The team which stays more focussed and balanced will progress in the tournament,” he said.
Tons of runs were scored in recent concluded ODI series between England and Pakistan. In all 4 completed matches, both England and Pakistan scored above 300 in each innings. The pitches were flat which made the life of bowlers very difficult. Kohli mentioned the same point in the press conference.
“Pitches are going to be very good in ICC tournaments. A bilateral series compared to a World Cup is very different. A lot of teams will also defend scores like 260 and 270. But there will be a lot of high-scoring games looking at the conditions,” Kohli said.
“In football player maintain their intensity for three-four months, like in the Premier League or La Liga.”
“You can take motivation from anywhere, when you talk about Indian Army, if we can do anything for them, it will be the best,” Kohli added.
Kohli was accompanied by the Indian coach Ravi Shastri. Shastri has high praises for former skipper MS Dhoni, who will be playing his last World Cup.
.@msdhoni will be crucial to team’s success: @RaviShastriOfc #TeamIndia pic.twitter.com/WpMAaexAnc
— BCCI (@BCCI) May 21, 2019
“MS Dhoni’s role will be massive. His communication with Virat has been fantastic. As a keeper, he has shown there is no one better than him. He will be a big player in this World Cup,” coach Shastri said.
“If we play up to our potential the World Cup will be here,” coach Ravi Shastri said.
