The ODI series against New Zealand starting at the Wankhede on Sunday will see India play under the new MCC's Laws of Cricket for the first time. Some new changes have been brought into the game from the start of this month.
In fact, New Zealand will also be playing with the rule changes for the first time as they will resume their international cricket after a break of more than four months following their ICC Champions Trophy campaign.
India captain Virat Kohli gave thumbs up to the new rule changes. He said that while it is exciting to bring in the changes, his players will have to be made aware of the new rules.
Speaking on the eve of the first ODI here prior to the team's practice session, Kohli said: "There are a few rules that are very different – the batsman reaching the crease and bat bouncing being a not out. There is grey area to that. The rule of Umpire's Call in DRS, you get the review back. So, there are few rule changes which are quite interesting. There is one about catching as well, the first contact has to be inside the field of play.
"So, I think the guys will need awareness with these new rules. They are always difficult to keep a check on initially, but I think we all will get used to it. But it's a good thing, new regulations coming in just makes things much more exciting and a bit more professional, I guess. You have to keep in mind a lot of things while you are on the field and this just adds to that and helps you more focussed on what needs to be done during the course of a game.
While the rule changes are something that Kohli and his team have to get used to, what is in his, and the team management's control is the rotation of his key players, keeping in mind the hectic schedule that lay ahead for his team. This includes a bilateral full series against Sri Lanka at home soon after seeing off New Zealand in the ODIs and T20Is followed by the tour of South Africa this year end-early next year.
Kohli looked concerned for his players' burn out. He said: "We are expected to perform on a consistent basis. But, rest and time to prepare should be adequate for athletes as well. This should not be an area where players are chipped and changed according to form. You need to look at all aspects in terms of how many games you are playing, how much rest you are getting, whether you will be able to maintain that consistency for 12 months given the number of matches that we play, physically are you able to keep up with it how much ever fitness you do?
"But everyone needs rest. Everyone needs time to come back, especially the fast bowlers. So, we are doing that now with Umesh (Yadav), (Mohammed) Shami. We want them fresh for a Test season coming up. We don't want over-tired players and that's something we have spoken about already. Even some of the key batsmen will definitely get some rest in the future weeks, because of the importance of the away tours coming up. So, we will have to figure out ways to do that, but it's certainly a thing that we need to discuss for the future as well."
KOHLI SPEAK
ON PLANNING FOR THE FUTURE:
We certainly look to giving chances to guys who we think have the ability to perform at this level. It's not a situation where you start giving chances to people so much that you compromise on winning the series because of lack of experience. So, we need to strike that good balance regularly. For this series, Dinesh Karthik has come in for KL (Rahul). We thought it is better that he (Rahul) gets game time in the first-class level, so we have got in Dinesh, who has always played in the middle-order, who's more comfortable and more aware of how to bat in the middle order.
ON LIMITED-OVERS FUTURE OF R ASHWIN AND RAVINDRA JADEJA:
This is something we need to experiment with, find our best bowling combination before we reach the World Cup stage. We always had in mind to bring wrist spinners into play. Also, we will have to see how much we expose certain bowlers who are playing formats for us, who have played across formats, again as I said it's a rhythm thing. With batsmen, it's very different. With bowlers, it's even more difficult because you really need to change the way you bowl according to a format and that can hamper the most important format which is Test cricket for us. Ashwin and Jadeja have played for last 6-7 years, played limited-overs cricket for us regularly. These youngsters have stepped up, it creates a strong pool for us before the World Cup and contrary to a lot of things being said left, right and centre, we understand how the dynamics of the team going forward and that is something which will be hard to explain otherwise, people only count results and right now we are getting results, so we are happy with it.
N ZONE
200 No. of ODIs Virat Kohli would have played when he steps on to the field in the 1st ODI against New Zealand today
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 "Virat Kohli")
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