Sources have stated that India takes on Srilanka their second Group B ICC Champions Trophy encounter at the Kennington Oval in London on Thursday, a match that will give them a ticket to the semi-finals if they win. Team captain Virat Kohli was upbeat about the team's presence in the tournament but also took pains to explain why front line spinner Ravichandran Ashwin was not in the playing XI.
Kohli said ahead of Wednesday's match that "Ashwin is a high-class bowler, everyone knows that. And he is very professional as well. He understood the dynamic of the side that we picked in the last game and he was absolutely fine with it. He told me that I will support you in whatever you want to do and that's always been our equation".
Virat Kohli says "We are excited to be in the tournament and playing
against the top teams. Cricketers playing for India, anywhere in the world get
a good environment to play".
Meanwhile when responding to a question on where Sri Lanka stands as a team, Kohli said, "As I said, it is top eight teams in the world. Sri Lanka in ICC tournaments has done really well. If you see their record over the years, they have always been a side who reach the semis or reach closer to the semis and they have reached finals as well," So they have got talented players in their team, no doubt about that. They are going through a transition phase but they have the sort of players who can deliver match-winning performances on their day."
