India vs New Zealand, 1st ODI: Virat Kohli warns against burnout due to hectic schedule

On the eve of the first One-day International at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, rest and recuperation and the importance of staying fresh was a topic Kohli spoke about. India’s head coach Ravi Shastri had, in a video conference with the Committee of Administrators, red-flagged the non-stop cricket the team was playing.

On Saturday, Kohli said both the batsmen and bowlers would have to be rotated in order to ensure that they don’t burn out with overseas tours, including those to South Africa and England lined-up for next year.

“Yes, we have spoken about the schedule, it’s become quite hectic. That’s something we will definitely have to sit and discuss in future. Because, if you look at New Zealand, they haven’t played any cricket after Champions Trophy. There has been such a good lay off. It can be the difference in doing well in a big tournament and performing poorly,” Kohli said.

“Everyone needs time to come back, especially the fast bowlers. So we are doing that now with Umesh (Yadav) and (Mohammad) Shami. We want them fresh for a Test season coming up. We don’t want overtired players and that’s something we have spoken about already. Even some of the key batsmen will definitely get some rest in the future weeks because of the importance of the away tours coming up. So we will have to figure out ways to do that. But it’s certainly a thing that we need to discuss for the future as well,” he said.

The Indian captain said that the expectations around the team were always of a high standard but players would not be able to consistently perform unless they got enough ‘rest’ and ‘time to prepare’.

“We are expected to perform on a consistent basis. But I think the rest and time to prepare should be adequate for all. This should not be an area where players are changed according to form, you need to look at all aspects in terms of how many games you are playing, how much rest you are getting,” Kohli said.

Ashwin, Jadeja question

Chinaman Kuldeep Yadav and leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal have been bowling so well that the Indian captain admitted that he was tempted to field them in all games. The Indian captain also said that he was happy that the youngsters who had been given chances had stepped it up and have ensured that India have a strong pool of bowlers, including Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja.

“Ashwin and Jadeja have played for 6-7 years of limited overs cricket for us regularly. These youngsters have stepped up, it creates a strong pool for us before World Cup.”

India vs New zealand 1st ODI: Live on star sports 1, hd: 1:30 pm