“T Natarajan plays instead of Kuldeep Yadav, it’s a tactical change” - Virat Kohli
Indian captain Virat Kohli informed at the toss that struggling left-arm spinner Kuldeep Yadav has been replaced by T Natarajan for the third ODI against England in Pune. He, however, described the move as a tactical change.
Speaking after losing yet another toss and sent into bat, Virat Kohli said:
“One change to our side, tactical one looking at how the wicket has panned out. T Natarajan plays instead of Kuldeep Yadav.”
Asked what he would have done had he called correctly, Virat Kohli admitted that he would have bowled first, too. The Indian captain has described the wicket as one of the best ones of the series, saying:
“The famous saying is the toss is not in your control - it's completely out of my control now! I would have bowled first as well. As Jos (Buttler) mentioned, it is probably the best wicket of the series so far, looks hard with a good amount of grass covering.”
On the areas India will be looking to improve on in the third ODI, Virat Kohli stated:
“We have identified a few areas. In the first innings, we could make a difference of about 25-30 runs. Looking forward to executing our plans, putting a strong total on the board and a much better performance with the ball.”
Our best cricket has come out with our backs to the wall: Virat Kohli
The Indian captain also asserted that India are up for the challenge, pointing out that their best cricket has come when their backs have been against the wall.
After making a stupendous comeback in the Test series in Australia, India came from behind to win both the Test and T20I series against England.
“Our best cricket has come out when our backs have been against the wall. We had to come back in the Test series, and in T20Is, we had to come back twice. Not had to come back here, but it's a decider. There is not much room for any complacency,” Virat Kohli added.
England captain Jos Buttler said his team would continue to play their aggressive brand of cricket, which has delivered results for them more often than not.
“Our style and fashion of play is going to be very important today to continue to play the brand of cricket that we try and execute.”
Buttler admitted that it would be a great feeling to sign off a tough India tour on a high.
"It has been a fantastic tour, some fantastic matches along the way and coming down to a series decider in the last match of the tour is fantastic. Desperate to win,” Buttler added.
England also made one change to their side, bringing in Mark Wood for Tom Curran.