Kohli says taking tough decisions not difficult in current team

Mumbai, Dec 2 (IANS) India skipper Virat Kohli has said that it would not be very difficult to take tough calls regarding team composition for the second Test against New Zealand starting at the Wankhede Stadium here on Friday as there is a collective trust between the players and they are aware of the requirements of the team and the fact that conditions for the match will play a big role in making decisions.

With Kohli returning to the team after a short break during which he was rested for the T20I series and the first Test against New Zealand at Kanpur, India will have to rework its batting unit. Kohli and head coach Rahul Dravid will have to decide whom to drop from the playing XI, which played the Kanpur Test, to accommodate the skipper.

"You have to obviously understand the situation where the team is placed, you have to understand where the player stands, you have to understand the conditions and you have to communicate well. Not a difficult thing to do when there is collective trust in the team," said Kohli during the pre-match virtual press conference on Thursday.

He said the current team has collective trust in each other and they understand that decisions will be made according to team situation and necessity.

While Mumbai batter Shreyas Iyer, who came into the playing XI in place of Kohli, batted superbly, scoring a century on debut and a half-century in the second innings to rescue the team from a precarious position, seniors Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane as well as opener Mayank Agarwal did not score as many runs as they would have wanted to in Kanpur. The question confronting the Indian team management is on who to leave out.

Kohli said the team management will discuss all options and work out various combinations, taking into account the weather conditions, before taking a final call on the batting as well as bowling combination for the Wankhede Test.

The India skipper said he was looking forward to batting in Wankhede Stadium, where he had scored a big double hundred when India last played a Test in Mumbai. Saying that he always enjoyed playing at Wankhede, Kohli said he has always believed in gaining confidence from his knocks and the impact they have created.

The player will always have phases when things will not be going well for him, Kohli said, adding that hard work and perseverance help players get back to form.