By Ashis Ray
Ageas Bowl (Hampshire), Jun 17 (IANS): On the eve of the much-anticipated World Test Championship (WTC) final between India and New Zealand, skipper Virat Kohli termed the event as a positive step in the right direction, and said that the team has its bases covered going into the summit clash.
"We have our bases covered," a calm and composed Kohli told a pre-match press conference on Thursday afternoon, prior to announcing India's playing XI for the final of the inaugural World Test Championship commencing on Friday at the Ageas Bowl, near the English port city of Southampton.
On the lesson the Indian squad learnt after losing to New Zealand in a Test series away in February 2020, Kohli cited "belief in our abilities", while emphasising that "the process matters most to us".
Predictably, the skipper gave little away by way of tactics or strategy for the game. Indeed, he sounded unimpressed by most of the questions put to him, and distinctly irritated with one query.
Asked about the significance of the match, he replied: "It is an occasion that has to be enjoyed; but the mindset remains the same."
He also paid tribute to the concept of World Test Championship and described it as "a very positive step in the right direction". However, he qualified this by saying "more clarity would be helpful".
India's playing XI: Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli (captain), Ajinkya Rahane (vice-captain), Rishabh Pant (wicketkeeper), Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammad Shami and Ishant Sharma.
(Senior cricket writer Ashis Ray is a broadcaster and author of the book 'Cricket World Cup: The Indian Challenge')