With less than 24 hours to go for the all-important final between India and Pakistan in the ICC Champions Trophy 2017, Virat Kohli addressed the media at the pre-match press conference held in London.
Kohli spoke about a number of issues ranging from his own personal form to the team combination which he will use in the final.
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“Not looking to change too many things. I’ve said this before – I would any day back a guy like Hardik who provides you so much balance in conditions that he could be effective as a bowler. His batting is priceless. If you’re chasing a total and you need eight an over and you've lost wickets, he is a guy who can still win you the game.\
That’s the kind of belief he has in his ability and we have that belief in him,” said Kohli when asked about if he is thinking of including Shami in the team over Hardik Pandya.
“He can give you a matchwinning performance in any game he plays and a gun fielder as well. It’s very hard to find a package like that so you need to back guys like him on a regular basis and you will get those results where the team is in crisis and he stands up and gives a matchwinning performance.
So far he’s been really good in the tournament. When he bowls well, it’s a total relief for me as a captain because he can get you 7 good overs with a couple of wickets as well. So, I would not think of changing anything at this particular stage,” he concluded.
Pandya has had a decent tournament so far with a few ups and downs in the four matches he has played. He was fantastic in the match against Pakistan when he smashed Imad Wasim for three sixes in a row in the last over of the innings and backed that up with a good bowling spell as well.
His performance against Sri Lanka and Bangladesh were not that good as he conceded a lot of runs and failed to make a mark with the bat as well against the former. However, he bowled well against South Africa and picked up a wicket too.
He is expected to play a big part in the final and with Kohli’s backing, his future in the Indian cricket team looks secure.
