Kohli said the 3-0 win against New Zealand has boosted the confidence of his players going into this five-Test series
India may be tempted to play with three spinners against England, considering the visitors' troubles against rookie Bangladesh off-spinner Mehedi Hasan in the two-Test series before coming here.
That would give leg-spinner Amit Mishra a game after he was warming the bench in the previous series against New Zealand. If India play with three spinners, the new ball may be shared by Mohammad Shami and the all-rounder Hardik Pandya. If not, batsman Karun Nair may be the like-for-like replacement for Rohit Sharma at No. 6.
Kohli, as always, did not reveal what the team combination would be for the first Test starting here on Wednesday.
"The combination is something I will obviously not speak about at this stage," Kohli said on Tuesday. "I wouldn't say England struggled (against Bangladesh), they played really well in the first game. In the second game, Bangladesh played better in their conditions.
"We know England is a side that came to India last time and played well. We're not going to take anything for granted, although we're playing some really good cricket. We want to focus on our strengths but you cannot ignore the opposition altogether," he added.
Kohli said the 3-0 win against New Zealand has boosted the confidence of his players going into this five-Test series.
"It gives you confidence before you go to the next one every time we win a series. That is something we have been able to do. That is something that we want to keep achieving as a team. I know it's not possible to do it all the time but we have that vision of winning Test matches and winning series. For that, you have to play hard-fought cricket and come back from difficult situations, which this team has done. That given us a lot of confidence and belief in ourselves as a Test team," Kohli said.
The last time India played England in Tests, Kohli failed miserably with the bat in 2014. He said those failures have made him a better cricketer.
"I can put it simply as a phase in my career when I didn't perform very well. I just take it as a setback in my career, and not motivate myself in a way that I have to prove people wrong or I have to do something special against a particularly opposition. I am playing cricket anywhere and against any team in the world, those things will not make any difference to me," he said.
Kohli will be only the second Indian Test captain after current chief India coach Anil Kumble in 2008 in Sri Lanka who will signal 'T' with his arms to the umpire for the Decision Review System (DRS).
"There is no rocket science to DRS. As a cricketer you understand, you have a fair idea of where the ball has hit the pad, whether it has pitched in line or hit in line. Those are pretty basic things. You don't have to necessarily go through a course for DRS," Kohli said.
"I think we have observed enough watching on TV how DRS is used. It really depends on what the bowler and a wicketkeeper most importantly think about the particular event or if a referral has to be made. It is pretty simple. It is nothing that we are focussing too much on. It just gives you another opportunity to check on a decision if you feel is not right. And I think that's pretty fair," he added.
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