The Hindu : Sport / Cricket : Kohli confident

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Feb 09, 2008
ePaper | Mobile/PDA Version

Sport

Sport - Cricket

Kohli confident

Principal Correspondent

Bangalore: An air of optimism and quiet confidence lingered as India under-19 team captain Virat Kohli along with coach Dav Whatmore, addressed the media here on Friday before departing for Malaysia to compete in the forthcoming Under-19 World Cup there from February 17 to March 2.

“We have had a week-long camp here (NCA) in which we addressed all aspects of cricket and coach Whatmore shared his expertise and experiences and he dealt with each and every player,” Kohli said. And when asked if he was confident that India had the potential to win the World Cup, Kohli said: “Yes, we believe we can do it.”

Caution

Later Whatmore tempered Kohli’s exuberant remark with a cautious one. “I do think we have the potential to win the World Cup but if you ask the same question to other teams as well, I am sure they would also say that they are confident. At the end of the day its how you play the matches and it is about putting your best foot forward,” Whatmore said.

The captain and coach also stressed on India’s batting strength.

“We bat deep and in our recent tours, batsmen at positions seven and eight, hardly got a chance to bat. That reflects our strength and we have added a few fast bowlers to our squad,” Kohli said. Whatmore added: “The batting has depth and it is a good group.”

Queried about Group B in which India figures along with the West Indies, South Africa and Papua New Guinea, Kohli said: “It is a tough group and we have some good teams out there. As far as other teams are concerned, we do have a fair idea of England, South Africa and New Zealand though we don’t know much about Pakistan (defending champions) as their team has changed in recent times.”

Team spirit

Kohli also said that team spirit is good. “We have only about five to six new players in the squad and we all know each other through the under-19 tournaments and through the NCA and the zonal academies. The spirit is good,” Kohli said.

Meanwhile Whatmore reiterated that coaching principles are the same across age-groups.

“The principles are the same and I have worked with youth cricket many years back. India has enormous depth in young talent and the challenge for us is to create the right pathways and tough competitions for these players to emerge,” Whatmore said.

The team: Virat Kohli (captain), Abhinav Mukund, S. Goswami, Tanmay Srivastav, Manish Pandey, Taruwar Kohli, Ravindra Jadeja, Saurabh Tiwary, D. Sivakumar, Pradeep Sangwan, Siddharth Kaul, Ajitesh Argal, E. Napolean, Perry Goyal. Iqbal Abdullah. Coach: Dav Whatmore.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Sport