India to assess strength ahead of WT20: Kohli

On paper India might come up as red hot favourite after conquering Australia in away series and Sri Lanka at home but the Asia Cup will provide them an ideal platform of assessing their condition ahead of the World T20.
India might have whitewashed Australia in three-match T20 series, however it needs to be taken into account that Australia had fielded a relatively weak side. They were hampered by injuries. Star bowler Mitchell Starc was absent. Their marquee players were rested at crucial junctures.
Sri Lanka had pretty much fielded a second string side with the likes of Lasith Malinga, Angelo Mathews, Nuwan Kulasekara and Rangana Herath missing due to injuries. It was a very inexperienced squad led by Dinesh Chandimal.
This is what the Asia Cup will bring - the real test. They will be up against three strong teams along with a tricky qualifier UAE who would be looking to get into the groove ahead of the World T20. Sri Lanka are back to full strength with Malinga, Mathews, Herath and Kulasekara returning from injuries. Pakistan players will come up playing a highly competitive Pakistan Super League. Bangladesh on the other hand made the home ground a fortress and will be highly confident after beating India last time at home.
India though are well balanced with vast of T20 experience and numerous match winners, they got a blow just ahead of the game against Bangladesh after their regular captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni suffered aback spasm. India will wait for Dhoni till the match starts but it is highly unlikely that he could make his way. Test captain Virat Kohli who was rested during the series against Sri Lanka will lead the side if Dhoni is unavailable.
Kohli reckoned the Asia Cup as a challenging tournament and expected that it would provide them an opportunity to assess to where they are standing at the moment.
“It’s a great opportunity. Asia cup has always been a challenging tournament, it’s a tournament that gives us an opportunity, to it’s like a mini sort of event as far as the subcontinent teams are concerned.”
Mirpur Sher-e-Bangla ground has been lucky for the Team India given they won five T20s out of six here.
“Things can change pretty quickly in T20 cricket. I mean both the teams are very strong, but we are not focusing on the strengths of the opposition too much because we need to back our strengths and win matches. The focus will be on that.”
According to Kohli who holds the record of highest run (319 runs) in T20 cricket at Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium, the Indian players know what they should do at different stages of the game since they have been playing T20 cricket regularly.
“Everyone individually knows what needs to be done in different stages so I think everyone knows what to do. So even MS (Dhoni)  is not required to put in so much thought as to what needs to be done because the players already have so much experience. So I think it takes lot of load off him as well. And that’s why the fact that he said that team is in auto-pilot mode.”

India to assess strength ahead of WT20: Kohli

On paper India might come up as red hot favourite after conquering Australia in away series and Sri Lanka at home but the Asia Cup will provide them an ideal platform of assessing their condition ahead of the World T20. India might have whitewashed Australia in three-match T20 series, however it needs to be taken into account that Australia had fielded a relatively weak side. They were hampered by injuries. Star bowler Mitchell Starc was absent. Their marquee players were rested at crucial junctures. Sri Lanka had pretty much fielded a second string side with the likes of Lasith Malinga, Angelo Mathews, Nuwan Kulasekara and Rangana Herath missing due to injuries. It was a very inexperienced squad led by Dinesh Chandimal. This is what the Asia Cup will bring - the real test. They will be up against three strong teams along with a tricky qualifier UAE who would be looking to get into the groove ahead of the World T20. Sri Lanka are back to full strength with Malinga, Mathews, Herath and Kulasekara returning from injuries. Pakistan players will come up playing a highly competitive Pakistan Super League. Bangladesh on the other hand made the home ground a fortress and will be highly confident after beating India last time at home. India though are well balanced with vast of T20 experience and numerous match winners, they got a blow just ahead of the game against Bangladesh after their regular captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni suffered aback spasm. India will wait for Dhoni till the match starts but it is highly unlikely that he could make his way. Test captain Virat Kohli who was rested during the series against Sri Lanka will lead the side if Dhoni is unavailable. Kohli reckoned the Asia Cup as a challenging tournament and expected that it would provide them an opportunity to assess to where they are standing at the moment. Its a great opportunity. Asia cup has always been a challenging tournament, its a tournament that gives us an opportunity, to its like a mini sort of event as far as the subcontinent teams are concerned. Mirpur Sher-e-Bangla ground has been lucky for the Team India given they won five T20s out of six here. Things can change pretty quickly in T20 cricket. I mean both the teams are very strong, but we are not focusing on the strengths of the opposition too much because we need to back our strengths and win matches. The focus will be on that. According to Kohli who holds the record of highest run (319 runs) in T20 cricket at Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium, the Indian players know what they should do at different stages of the game since they have been playing T20 cricket regularly. Everyone individually knows what needs to be done in different stages so I think everyone knows what to do. So even MS (Dhoni) is not required to put in so much thought as to what needs to be done because the players already have so much experience. So I think it takes lot of load off him as well. And thats why the fact that he said that team is in auto-pilot mode.