Sri Lanka vs India: Hardik Pandya has a great chance of playing, says Virat Kohli

PTI

New Delhi: While India will hope to extend their domination over Sri Lanka when they take on the Islanders, tomorrow at Galle, for the first of the three Tests, skipper Virat Kohli revealed in a recent press conference about the fate of Hardik Pandya. ( SL vs IND – Preview )

The Gujarat-based all rounder, who shot to fame with the last over thriller against Bangladesh to gift the Indians the Asia Cup in 2015, is yet to make a debut in Test cricket. Yes, his name is part of the 15-man squad that headed down to Sri Lanka, but whether he has made it to the playing XI is yet to be unveiled. And Virat reckons that he does have a good chance of kick-starting his Test career at Galle.

A day ahead of the game, Virat said,"We got a guy like Hardik Pandya, who has a knack of picking wickets. He has a great chance of playing as well. That gives us the balance."

The reason as explained by Virat is that the presence of an extra batsman would give the team a 'solidarity'. Not only so, Pandya's wicket-taking ability also adds to his priority.

"The extra batsman gave us more solidarity. We have taken learnings from that and we will surely apply that straightaway into the series. It is very important to have your strike bowlers to be able to pick up wickets," he said.

Talking about the team, Kohli mentioned the areas they need to look into. “I don’t think there are any areas of concern for us. We have been looking to fine tune smaller areas during the course of the game. We have given responsibility to the players to identify those areas.”

“Even the substitutes who sit on the sideline, their concern for the team, it is great to see them as a part of the team. The culture in the team is outstanding and makes me proud. All guys think we can do it. We have the belief and trust," concluded Kohli.