The Indian cricket team led by Virat Kohli are keen on moving on from their World Cup semi-final defeat, and the T20 International series against West Indies beginning August 3 in Florida is something they won’t be complaining about.
The West Indies series is among the chances for the plethora of youngsters looking to make their case for the 2020. There are as many as five different inclusions from the last time they played. Among those are uncapped players Rahul Chahar and Navdeep Saini.
According to Kohli, this is also the time when Delhi’s Rishabh Pant should look to gain experience and cement his place in the team.
“It’s a great opportunity for someone like Rishabh Pant to really play a lot of international cricket, show his credentials, really unleash his potential at this stage,” Kohli said. “We know how much ability he has and we all want him to become a consistent performer for the Indian cricket team. MS’s experience is always going to be a very crucial factor but having said that some of these younger guys have a great opportunity ahead of them and they should just look forward to it.”
“All these are proven performers and we actually have a lot of belief in their abilities. We know giving the ball to anyone at any stage of the game, they’ll do the job. Everyone is a professional here and they have come because of a lot of T20 experience. If you look at the IPL you will have so many options, but you choose 15 which are the best. That’s what it was down to. And you expect them to do the job on the day.”
“I think the good thing is with T20 cricket we’re not really worried about the mindset of the players because having played IPL back home for so many years and being good performers in the T20 format, these guys have a lot of composure,” Kohli added.
The three-match series kicks off with the first T20I on Saturday (August 3).
