Ahead of the ODI series against New Zealand, Indian captain Virat Kohli has said that he expects a tough series as the hosts are a top side in their home conditions. Kohli also said that he expects his side to do the same things they did when they scripted history in Australia.
"The fact they are No 3 in the world speaks about their consistency over the last couple of years. We played them in India and got beaten in Mumbai, and all the games were competitive and we felt they had a really good balance," Kohli told the media before the match.
The skipper also said that he was forced to play three seamers in the absence of a seam-bowling all-rounder. Hardik Pandya has been slapped with a ban which paved way for Vijay Shankar to make his debut. Kohli believes that if there is an all-rounder, he would not play three genuine seamers.
'Booing has no impact on me'
"Only if someone like a Vijay Shankar or a Hardik doesn't play, then (only) three fast bowlers makes sense. Because if an all-rounder can chip in with a few overs of seam up, then you don't necessarily need a guy bowling 140kmph as the third bowler along with the two fast bowlers," Kohli said.
The captain, who wears his heart on his sleeves, faced a lot of booing in the Australian tour, but he believes that it no longer has an impact on him as he has to focus on getting the job done for his side, rather than wondering about the crowd.
"Well, that used to happen in the middle phase of my career. It all started in 2014-15 series (in Australia). So I used to feed off those things then as I needed to boost myself up but now being the captain of the team, I really don't need to focus on those things," Kohli said.
