I don’t think there is anything called ‘form’, says Kohli

Kohli said as much and he would love for himself and his batsmen to not burden Ashwin and Jadeja with run-scoring duties.

That series was a nightmare for Kohli, and since then, the Indian Test captain has always been considered susceptible to the moving ball.

In speaking about Cheteshwar Pujara’s strike rate, just after the Kanpur Test, Virat Kohli reminisced – sort of – of the days when Pujara used to score quick, dominating double-centuries against visiting spinners.

Furthermore, batting allrounder Jimmy Neesham, who did not play the first match, is also sidelined owing to injury. “I am looking to work hard”, Kohli said.

Left-handed opener Gautam Gambhir returns to the India squad after two years to replace in the injured Lokesh Rahul, but indications are he may sit on the sidelines to accommodate Shikhar Dhawan. That shifts your focus from the process.

“Once DRS is in place, once DRS is up and running for us as well, then you can say what are the grey areas”.

“I don’t think about these things”.

“Number one doesn’t matter for us because it is temporary”, Kohli told reporters. He has certain ways of playing which he should not change. “It’s better to observe things that are not directly in our control from far”. On the roads leading up to Eden Gardens, there are banners promoting this game as the 250th Test for India on home soil. “Possibly, even a little bit hotter from a temperature point of view”. It’s generally a very good batting wicket more often than not.

The 41-year-old former cricketer also recalled the contribution made by ex-national coach John Wright, who was the first foreign coach to be appointed by the BCCI. India lead the three-match series 1-0 following a 197-run win in the first Test at Kanpur.

“Without having the batting all-rounder available you’ve got to go one way or the other, batting heavy or with one less bowler”. Giving him confidence at the nets, giving him practice games.

In 2001, the Steve Waugh-led Aussies started their India tour with an easy ten-wicket victory at Mumbai. “These are things we had discussed and had a meeting”.

“I’m really happy that he’s contributing with the bat. I hope he can keep continuing”.

Kohli also said the team has had discussions on the contentious Decision Review System (DRS) and looks forward to the technology’s introduction in the future. We have come with a plan. Generally cricket is a game of chances, but preparation is in my hand. We expect them to play really good cricket but we expect to bounce back and pull things back if things go their way. We’re not pre-planning any approach. We don’t feel we need any more.

But things were good when he was given the responsibility of captaincy of India blue team for Duleep Trophy which is considered to be historic.

But what truly makes Ashwin’s achievements stand out is the fact that he is a spin bowler in a cricketing era that heavily favours batsmen.