Virat Kohli stands up for his bowling unit during press conference
What’s the story?
Indian cricket team captain Virat Kohli addressed the media a day prior to the one-off Test against Bangladesh in Hyderabad on the 9th of February. When he was asked about his team’s combination and the fact that the batting line-up is strong but there might be an issue over the combination of the bowlers, he had the perfect response.
(Watch from 9:45 for this segment)
Kohli said, “I can’t talk about the combination yet, we will decide that in the evening. We are doing well in both the departments, that’s why we’re the number one side in the world currently. Not only because of the batting, the bowlers have taken 20 wickets as well. In fact, the bowlers have scored runs as well and thus I believe the bowlers’ role is more important than the batsmen in the past one year. We go into the game believing that our bowlers are our main players in Test matches and they are the ones who can win you matches. Even if we score 800 runs, unless you take 20 wickets, you can’t win the game.
The context
While the contribution from the lower-order batsmen has traditionally been a marginal fraction of the total runs scored in the past, the previous 12 months have shown that the bowlers are more than capable of chipping in.
Ravi Ashwin has taken the lead on this issue and is as important with the bat as he is with the ball these days and Jayant Yadav has followed in his stead.
The details
The lower-order batsmen of India, especially the spinners, have taken the lead on contributing with the bat.
| Player | Innings | Runs | Average | 100s, 50s |
| Ravi Ashwin | 14 | 612 | 43.71 | 2, 4 |
| Ravindra Jadeja | 14 | 375 | 37.5 | 0, 3 |
| Jayant Yadav | 4 | 221 | 73.66 | 1,1 |
The numbers clearly justify what Virat Kohli said during his press conference that the bowlers have chipped in with the bat.
Further, the bowlers had an outstanding year with the ball, and have been rewarded by a rise in the ICC rankings. Ravi Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja are number one and two respectively in the ICC rankings, while Mohammed Shami and Ishant Sharma are in the top-25.
Sportskeeda’s take
The bowling unit has undoubtedly been the hero for the Indian cricket team in the past 12-18 months. While the batters have done an incredible job with Virat Kohli, Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane leading the line, the bowlers have often taken India over the line.
The fact that Ravichandran Ashwin has won 7 ‘ man of the match’ and ‘man of the series’ titles is a testament to exactly what Virat Kohli had to say.