Virat Kohli is about to set his course for the first full length Test series as a captain from Wednesday when India will take on Sri Lanka at the Galle Stadium.
Kohli expressed his excitement of leading Team India and is confident of changing India's recent overseas records.
"It is my first full series. It's a great opportunity to create some momentum knowing it's a three-Test series, having some plan in mind, having the opportunity and time to execute them. Even if it's an off day, you still have time to re-group and think about what went wrong. If it's a good day you can learn from it, the positives and the areas that need improvement. As a captain you always need more time with the team, more games to play and better chances of creating an environment that you require the team to be in. So I am very excited. It's an opportunity not only for me but all of us for a new Indian team. We are all pretty early in our careers and it's exciting," Kohli told the reporters at the pre-match press conference on Tuesday.
Kohli was happy to get a good six day practice before the first Test match, which is scheduled to start from Wednesday. He also added that the warm up game was useful for the players to gear up for this all important Test series against Sri Lanka. It helped them to acclimatise with the conditions as well, although it is not much different from here in India.
"It's probably a good thing. We have had five, six days of really good practice. Even yesterday, with whatever time we had at the nets, the intensity was up there and the guys prepared really well. The day before the game is always a light session. If someone wants to bowl or have a hit, they can. But unfortunately it rained. But I think we have got decent enough practice going into the Test. The guys are looking in good shape and everyone is mentally fresh. So it's not going to make much difference. I see it as a positive where people will have the time to visualise, relax and prepare for the game with the mental aspect than putting those extra hours in practice," Kohli said.
