India captain Virat Kohli says he considers the ICC World Test Championship to be among cricket’s biggest prizes.
India currently lead the way in the standings after winning every one of their seven games in the competition so far. They sit on 360 points and Kohli is already eyeing a place in the final.
That will be played at Lord’s next year and the India skipper is determined to stay top of the rankings ahead of his country’s two-Test clash with New Zealand. in Wellington on Friday.
India are currently considered marginal favourites to secure a win in the first Test, which starts in Wellington on Friday. They can be backed at 2.20 (6/5) with bet365, with New Zealand at 2.50 (6/4). The draw is available at 5.00 (4/1)
World Test Championship is a prestigious prize
Kohli has underlined how important he considers the championship to be.
He said: “I think Test Championship, as an ICC tournament, should be right up there.
“All the other tournaments, for me, start under that. This is going to be the biggest of them all. Every team wants to make it to the final at Lord's. And we are not any different. We want those points and make sure that we qualify as early as we can, and be in that frame of mind to hopefully win that.
India’s star man believes the ICC World West Championship is also good for Test cricket in general.
“The series in South Africa was pretty interesting, with South Africa winning the first and then England winning the Cape Town one, the way they won in the last hour. You will see a lot more results like that because of the points that are on the line,” he added.
Managing cricket workload is vital
Despite looking ahead to more cricket, Kohli has reiterated the need for players to manage the time on the field.
He said: “The intensity is right up there all the time. I am not saying it's not something the players are not thinking about. We do choose to take a lot more breaks individually even though the schedule might not allow you to. You are going to see a lot of that in the future from many players, especially from the guys who are playing all three formats. It's not that easy.
“Then being captain and having intensity in practice sessions and discussing the game … it does take a toll on you. So periodic breaks for me seems to work pretty okay. At a time when the body doesn't respond as well, maybe when I am 34-35, you might have a different conversation at that stage. But, for the next two-three years, I have no issues at all. The mindset is on the larger picture, and from that point, I am preparing myself for a rigorous three years from now.”
