India upbeat ahead of warm-up game against Sri Lanka Board's XI

Virat Kohli has voiced his preference for playing five bowlers

Colombo, Aug 4 (IANS)

Despite rain playing spoilsport during their outdoor practice session, Indian batsmen made the most of the indoor facility at the National Cricket Club (NCC) while the bowlers stayed at the hotel for their assessments and gym sessions with newly appointed physiotherapist Patrick Farhart and trainer Shankar Basu on Tuesday.

After the team's short flight from Chennai on Monday, captain Virat Kohli and his team are looking to spending some quality time at the nets to start their preparations for the three-match Test series, reports bcci.tv. India are scheduled to play three Test matches against Sri Lanka, with the first match starting on August 12 in Galle.

The series in Sri Lanka will give the team time to understand and evaluate their short and long term goals as a group in the longer format of the game. Members of the Indian team had a spring in their steps in the practice session, according to bcci.tv.

More responsibility and commitment from the bowlers

Kohli, who is still relatively new to his role as the Test skipper, has already voiced his preference for playing five bowlers in the team.

He has identified that in order to win, picking up twenty wickets in a Test match is of utmost importance.

He has called for more responsibility and commitment from the bowlers who he feels will execute the plans laid out by the team management.

To give sufficient cushion to the bowlers, the batsmen too need to make their bat do the talking and together the team would need to work like a cohesive Test unit, Kohli said earlier.

India have a wealth of resources within the team; be it the competition for the opening slot between K.L. Rahul, Shikhar Dhawan and Murali Vijay who have all been amongst runs, or the likes of three experienced spinners and a hungry pace bowling department looking to make a mark in the series.

The lone three-day practice game against Sri Lanka Board's XI starting on Thursday will be the only opportunity for the team to tinker and try out a few team combinations before the first Test starts in Galle on August 12.