LONDON: Caught on the wrong foot once his alleged 'differences' with coach
Anil Kumble became public knowledge,
Virat Kohli on Wednesday showed he had learnt to nimbly sidestep all talk of dressing-room rifts.
Ahead of India's game against Sri Lanka, Kohli even appeared eager to show off his "transparent, trusting" team when asked if leaving out some big names had been difficult for him. Kohli came across as a confident leader, one who is not afraid to implement his plans and is convinced of his team's support.
For the
Champions Trophy opener against Pakistan, Kohli has had to take the tough decision of leaving out off-spinner
Ravichandran Ashwin and pacer
Mohammad Shami from the XI, apart from sending
Hardik Pandya ahead of MS
Dhoni for that end-overs push with the bat. Asked how well Ashwin was taking the 'demotion', Kohli said, "Ashwin is a high-class bowler. He's very professional as well. He understood the dynamic of the side we picked, and he was absolutely fine with it.
"He told me, 'I support you in whatever you want to do'. That's always been our equation. We do have disagreements on bowling plans and all that sort of thing. He's a smart guy and has his own plans in place. But in this case where team selection comes into play, he's very professional."
Shami and Kohli. (AFP Photo)Kohli also said Shami didn't have too many matches under his belt coming into this tournament, and hence wasn't preferred. "Sha-mi hasn't played 50-over cricket for a long time. Umesh, Bhuvi and Bumrah had much more practice, even though Shami bowled really well in the few practice games. Shami can win you games in any form of cricket. He's feeling his way back, and is certainly an asset. This shows our bench strength."
'Hardik could become one of the most accomplished cricketers'
Kohli appeared pleased when asked to comment on Hardik Pandya's future prospects, saying, "He's a real asset. It's very hard to find a guy who can almost touch 140k and who strikes the ball the way he does. He can bat through the innings as well. Once you have a player like that, you need to make sure he's always committed. If he gets right support, he could go down as one of the most accomplished Indian cricketers in times to come."