Virat Kohli was speaking his mind even when he was 19. Hear him make some interesting points about problems facing India’s senior cricket team ahead of the 2007 World Cup.
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00:00The Indian team is very talented.
00:02The batting line-up is considered to be the best in the world on paper,
00:05but the matter is how they perform in the field.
00:08The bowling line-up is also very good.
00:10They are very good bowlers.
00:12They have a lot of talent.
00:13Like Munaf, Zaheer, Srisanth, all of them are young
00:17and they have gained a lot of experience.
00:20So there are a lot of chances for India to win.
00:21Do you think the Indian team is balanced?
00:23If we talk about batting and game play,
00:26do you think there is a balance in the Indian team?
00:29Yes, the Indian team is balanced.
00:31That's why we have taken the entire team
00:34with the focus on bowling and batting.
00:36The matter is how they gel up in the field
00:39and perform as a unit.
00:41Virat, I would like to know from you,
00:43last season, Virender Sehwag made the team
00:45on April 2, 2005,
00:47almost two years ago.
00:48In this case, you are taking them to big tournaments
00:51like the World Cup.
00:52Do you think this is right?
00:54Are you taking players like Uthappa with you?
00:57You are taking two openers with you.
00:59You have Ganguly and Tendulkar with you.
01:01There are four players who can open.
01:03Do you think it is right to take Sehwag in this case?
01:06Yes, I agree that it is right on Dravid's part
01:09because the World Cup is a big tournament
01:11and you need experience there.
01:13You can't count on youth that much.
01:15So, according to me, it is a right decision
01:17because they are very experienced
01:19and have made a lot of runs in the Indian game.
01:20I would like to know, as Dilip Vengsarkar said,
01:23that they took Sehwag on the insistence of Dravid.
01:26Do you think that the team went to the West Indies
01:28for the World Cup
01:29and after that they are playing like this?
01:31Will this affect the team's morale?
01:34Will this affect Sehwag's morale?
01:36Yes, we shouldn't have disclosed this on TV
01:39and this will affect Sehwag's morale
01:42because he was down anyway
01:44and after this news came out,
01:46his confidence got low.
01:48The team had announced that they will play in the Pathan team
01:52and then Vengsarkar said no.
01:54If they don't perform well in this match,
01:56they won't go to the West Indies again.
01:58Don't you think this affects the player a lot?
02:01Yes, it affects a lot
02:03because once you are announced,
02:05a cricketer has to make his mindset
02:07and the very next moment,
02:09if you are told that you are not sure,
02:12it affects a lot.
02:14I would like to know from you
02:16that why doesn't India have the guts
02:18to play five games?
02:20We always see that an extra batsman
02:22is always played by India.
02:24On paper, we see that India has
02:26such batsmen
02:28who can destroy any game in the world.
02:31Despite this, India plays five games
02:34and always plays an extra batsman.
02:36So what do you think is the reason for this?
02:39As you have seen in the past,
02:41India has not been able to defend well.
02:43Even if they play five balls,
02:45they don't have the capacity
02:47to defend a big score.
02:49India's batting strength
02:51can chase any score.
02:53We still don't have all-rounders.
02:56We had Pathan,
02:58but he hasn't been able to
03:00reach his level yet.
03:02All-rounders like Jack Scullis
03:04have made their mark.
03:06But Pathan is still struggling.
03:08If they bowl well, they don't bat.
03:10If they bowl well, they don't bowl.
03:12Do you think that if all-rounders
03:14come to India,
03:16or players like Sachin Tendulkar,
03:18Virender Sehwag or Sourav Ganguly,
03:20they can make a big difference
03:22by playing an all-rounder?
03:24If you look at Sachin,
03:26Sehwag and Yuvraj,
03:28they can bowl three balls
03:30in 5-6 overs in every match.
03:32If they concentrate on bowling,
03:34they can become good all-rounders.
03:36It affects the game.
03:38Instead of focusing on the game,
03:40you are modeling,
03:42adding, making money.
03:44Each player is endorsed
03:46by 30 brands.
03:48It must affect the game.
03:50I don't think so.
03:52If you don't perform,
03:54these things come out.
03:56If you keep winning,
03:58no one will talk about endorsements.
04:00Since you both are players,
04:02you are not ready to accept
04:04that it affects the game.
04:06Media has become a big power
04:08these days.
04:10Media pressurizes a lot.
04:12They make you a hero in a day.
04:14If Dhoni scores,
04:16people think Dhoni is gone.
04:18Do you think the media
04:20pressurizes the players
04:22or are they capable
04:24of tolerating the pressure?
04:26It doesn't affect them.
04:28I think the media
04:30pressurizes a lot.
04:32Even Sachin was pressurized
04:34by the media.
04:36I think if the media
04:38pressurizes a player,
04:40it will affect him psychologically.