Sri Lanka vs India 2017: Virat Kohli lifts the lid on changes for the third test
What's the story?
India face Sri Lanka tomorrow at Pallekele in the third test match of the series and today the Indian captain faced the media in a pre match press conference. With Ravindra Jadeja being banned for the third test, the captain was obviously asked about the composition of his side and the expected changes in the playing eleven.
Kohli said, "We have to understand that to play consistent cricket obviously you need to make sure that people are playing on a regular basis. Those who are performing and those who are doing well should continue getting more games than not and to be a consistent side I think we need to have continuity as well unless the situations where things are not controllable arises. We certainly are not thinking about drastic changes at this stage."
In case you didn't know...
India have been the dominant force in this series so far with the hosts, Sri Lanka failing to mount a serious challenge so far in the tournament. But the third test can prove to be a tough ask for the Indians with Kohli set to miss Ravindra Jadeja who was banned by the International Cricket Council (ICC) for one match for a breach of the code of conduct.
Axar Patel has been called upon as a cover for the suspended all rounder.
The heart of the matter
As expected, Virat Kohli has suggested against the notion of making too many changes to the winning combination. He also said that the team does not want to experiment too much and lose momentum in the series with his side playing an aggressive brand of cricket at the moment.
What next?
Sportskeeda can understand that Virat Kohli may opt for Axar Patel for tomorrow's match ahead of Kuldeep Yadav. It is said that Patel's bowling style is pretty similar to that of Jadeja's - a type of bowler which Kohli needs in his side.
Kuldeep Yadav's stock delivery to the left handers is pretty similar to that of R Ashwin's which has got the board to go with Patel.
Author's take
Whatever team combination Kohli opts to play tomorrow, the truth is that India are too strong for the Lankans at the moment and might win the third test with ease. Meanwhile, the Lankans have rested Rangana Herath for the third test which further dents their cause.
If India manage a win in the Pallekele test, they will complete a whitewash against Sri Lanka for the first time in their history.