As long as his body allows him, Kohli would not miss a single match: Fielding coach Sridhar

India’s fielding coach R Sridhar said on Friday that captain Virat Kohli would not miss a chance to play for the country as long as he is fit and would ask for rest only when his body demands.

India are scheduled to tour South Africa for a full series early next year and there is a feeling that Kohli should be rested during the two-month long ongoing home series against Sri Lanka, but the captain insisted that he would ask for rest only when needed.

“Each member in this team is very proud to represent his country at any given opportunity. Most in the team love to play every match. Knowing Virat, he wears his pride on his sleeve. As long as his body allows him, he would not miss a single second of the match,” Sridhar told a news conference after the second day’s against Sri Lanka.

Asked why three Test old Hardik Pandya was taken off the squad after the all-rounder sought for rest, Sridhar said: “The parameters we take into consideration is the workload. The time he spent at the crease, overs, batting...based on that, the team management takes a call on who needs to be rotated.”

Watch out for Shami and Bhuvi

Speaking about the rain-hit first Test where the home team is currently in a spot of bother, Sridhar said Mohammed Shami and Bhuvneshwar Kumar will relish the challenge of bowling on the green top here as much as the Sri Lankan pacers.

After Suranga Lakmal’s (3/5) exploits on the first day, it was Dasun Shanaka’s (2/23) turn to steal the limelight on Friday as he struck twice to leave India reeling at 74/5 in 32.5 overs.

“It was fabulous to see so much of lateral movement and swing Lakmal and his fellow bowlers were purchasing from this wicket. Hopefully Shami and ‘Sultan of swing’ Bhuvi (Bhuvneshwar Kumar) would relish the challenge,” Sridhar told reporters.

With rain playing spoilsport again, only 21 overs of play was possible on the second day. On day one, only 11.5 overs were bowled before umpires decided to call off the day’s play.

The rain is caused by a depression that is likely to clear out on Saturday and Sridhar said a result was very much on the cards if they have three full days.

“This Test can definitely get a result in 270 overs, should we get that. If the weather clears out, it would be really interesting going by the conditions of this Test,” he said.

“Days like these really bring the team together where you spend a lot of time in the dressing room with each other with team in a bit of an adverse position. I always feel these kind of days are wonderful for the team.”

Cheteshwar Pujara stood tall amid the ruins with an unbeaten 47 from 102 balls and Sridhar said the mantra for the India batsman was to narrow down the ‘V’ region to minimise the chance of being caught.

“The thing that really stood out was most of his drives were to the right of mid-off. He had a very narrow V. It was a simple mantra and he was successful. It’s one of the best 47 runs from Pujara in last two-three years,” he said.

“He is a batsman who has a grip of every condition when he goes to bat. With moving ball the gameplan was pretty simple – play as close to your body, play straight.”

Importance of fielding

The Indian team is considered a supremely confident fielding side and Sridhar gave credit to players’ putting in a lot of hard work.

“We are not doing any magic trick. As far as fielding goes, the formula is very simple, the more you practice the better you get. You can see the results because it’s a controllable skill of the game unlike bowling and batting which one cannot control. So we work hard on the things we can control and I may sound like a broken record here but the only way to get better is to practice a lot and that’s what this team does,” he said.

“The fitter the player, the better the result on the field. You are more agile,” Sridhar added.

Stressing on the importance of slip catching, Sridhar said it would play a crucial role as they have a packed overseas calendar next year.

“As a team looking ahead to 15-20 months we are playing more away matches, our slip catching is going to be one of the areas that can contribute to the results which we want to achieve in our away Tests,” he said.

Sridhar said slip catching is more difficult in sub- continent than abroad.

“It’s always a challenge in the subcontinent because of the two-paced nature of the wickets. In England the ball wobbles. We have certain practice methods. We have prepared our best.

On Suresh Raina, Sridhar said once the batsman is fit, he would be a “part of the whole process”.

“He’s a fabulous fielder. Once he is through with the fitness parameters, I’m sure he will be very much part of the whole process,” he said.