Kolkata: Skipper Virat Kohli shrugged off pressure on Thursday for India to regain the top spot in the world rankings, saying he’s not interested in numbers, ahead of the second Test against New Zealand at the Eden Gardens.
After securing a comprehensive 197-run victory against New Zealand in the first Test, India could regain the number one position if they win the second Test starting in Kolkata on Friday and clinch the three-match series.
But Kohli said he was not motivated by records, despite India being just one point behind arch-rivals Pakistan in the International Cricket Council Test rankings.
“Number one doesn’t matter for us because it is temporary,” the skipper told reporters.
“If you get attached to these things then you get upset you are not able to do it. It’s better to observe from far on things that are not directly in our control.”
India toppled Australia at the top of the rankings after their recent series win against the West Indies, only to be leapfrogged by Pakistan. India are now hopeful of returning to number one before Pakistan play three Tests against the Windies in October and November.
Kohli was non-committal about whether Gautam Gambhir would play in Kolkata after he was spotted in the nets late on Thursday, following the veteran opener’s inclusion in the squad after a two-year absence.
Spin twins Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja bowled India to victory on Monday in Kanpur, but Kolkata’s iconic Eden Gardens is not expected to offer as much spin.
“The surface is pretty nice, it has a little bit of grass covering. It should be a good wicket to bat on,” said Kohli, who had a disappointing time at the crease in Kanpur.
Kohli also said India would probably introduce the Decision Review System (DRS) after India’s cricket board appeared to soften its opposition to the umpiring system if some changes were introduced.
“We will certainly look to probably introduce it in future,” Kohli said
“Those things I can’t say yes or no sitting here. We have discussed. We have had meetings about it. There are some areas (that) can be debated, especially ball tracking and hawk eye.
New Zealand opener Tom Latham welcomed the apparent change of stance from India, saying the system reduced human errors.
“We’ve had it in the past back home and it is a good system that tends to work. It gets rid of that decision that probably isn’t out or is out, that major decision that is called incorrectly.
“We enjoy it back home if (India started using it) that’d be great,” Latham said.
Meanwhile, New Zealand batsman Kane Williamson on Thursday missed training because of illness, teammate Tom Latham said before their second Test.
“Kane is a little bit crook today so he won’t be training,” the Kiwi opening batsman told media persons here.
Latham though assured there is nothing to worry about.
“He’s just down with a bug. It’s nothing too major. He’s just resting so as to be fit by tomorrow.”
Williamson, the second ranked Test batsman, is the top player of the visiting team and him missing the match would be detrimental for the already depleted side.
The visitors have three players — Tim Southee, James Neesham and Mark Craig — on the mending table.
