World Cup probables should not push beyond a limit during IPL, states Virat Kohli

As India get ready to play Australia in the T20I series starting from tomorrow, skipper Kohli has his eyes set on the probables for the upcoming World Cup. The T20I and ODI series against the Aussies would be the last international assignments for the Men In Blue before the World Cup as all of them would go into the Indian Premier League starting immediately after the series against the Aussies.

Kohli, meanwhile, has advised the players to be careful about fitness and other things during the upcoming IPL season.  The Indian skipper has asked players not to push beyond a limit for their respective franchises during the 12th edition of the league starting from March 23. 

“As a cricketer, you have to map out how many practice sessions you really need (during the IPL). If you are hitting the ball well, there is no need to go to a practice session and tire yourself out when you can utilise that particular phase to rest and recover even more. If your team is a great position in the tournament, you wouldn’t mind taking two-three games off so it all depends on how you feel physically. Everyone has to be really honest about it to themselves and not push beyond a limit. That might hamper the Indian team later on. I think we all need to take responsibility for this,” said Kohli during the pre-match press conference reported Hindustan Times. 

The Indian cricket team would start their World Cup campaign from June 5 against South Africa and Kohli has strictly asked the players not to go away from the one-day mould during the T20 league. “All people who are going to be part of the World Cup need to make sure their games don’t go too much away from the one-day mould. They need to be very wary of bad habits that might creep in during the IPL,” the Indian skipper explained.

“Frame of mind is the most important thing getting into the World Cup. And we need 15 people who are confident and mentally really happy about where there game is at that particular moment and it will take a consistent effort from all the players during the IPL to keep a check on that. The moment we enter the nets and create bad habits, you lose momentum. And once you lose that batting form, it is very difficult to get it back in a tournament like the World Cup. Everyone will have to protect that mindset and be aligned towards what the team wants.”

Talking about the team combination and selection for the World Cup, the batsman said, “We are more or less sorted, I guess. But through the course of the series (against Australia), you might see something that might surprise you as a team or you might want to change immediately. But those are things which depend on what circumstances might come in front of you. As of now, we feel pretty balanced as a side. I don’t see major concerns or areas that we need to think about anymore, everything is more or less sorted.”