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India's bowling coach Morne Morkel has said that the team is ready to tap into the knowledge of KL Rahul to succeed in the Test series in Sri Lanka. Rahul is the last surviving member from the Indian squad that last visited the island nation back in 2018.
Transcript
00:00Morning. Basically, although he said one question at a time, there would be a follow-up question.
00:04One is that KL is the only player in the batting group. He is the survivor of this team.
00:12So how important that experience will be in a three-match series? And also another thing is that
00:20group Jurel and Safras Khan, is it a happy problem to live with in terms of middle-order options?
00:28Yeah, I think in these conditions, you always want to have those options. You can explore and
00:32you can discuss and come up with the best combination. In terms of experience, it's always
00:38handy to have that experience. I think KL, the last couple of years, the way he's been leading up
00:44front with the batting has been exceptional. And that's the sort of communication that we expect
00:51them to speak to the guys here in the preparation, at the nets, what to expect. But I think our
01:00guys
01:00have learned a lot about their games individually over the last couple of months. And that's one
01:04of the reasons why we've come out here 10 days earlier, to give the guys the best opportunity
01:09with the pair. You need to work on the individual game plans, individual game plans, just to figure
01:15out how they're going to score on the surface here.
01:36I think it's exciting. You know, all these guys have come a long way with their skill.
01:44Kurnur here, not so long ago on the A-side was very successful, so he knows, sort of,
01:49he's got an idea about the conditions. You know, Praset, Siraj, they've played a lot of cricket back
01:55home, where it's also tough bowling conditions. And I think coming here, you know, our skill is there,
02:03the planning will be there, but the biggest challenge will be the heat, humidity, the kookaburra ball,
02:08going back to that, you know, once it gets a little bit softer. You know, how we can stack up
02:13overs
02:13together with intensity and create that pressure. Because we haven't played a lot of red football
02:19cricket the last couple of months, and going back into that is going to be a challenge. And,
02:22you know, that's something I'm quite excited. We're quite excited to see how these guys can stand up
02:27and form that partnerships and create that pressure.
02:31It's still two days out of the task, but do you reckon if you play the game today, it's the
02:37kind of
02:37surface where you would fancy going in with three spinners?
02:41Yeah, I think, you know, traditionally, so if you look at the venue, the stats, and how that's been
02:48played up, I mean, that's sort of the way to go. I think, you know, the way that we go
02:53with our spin
02:54rolling attack of spinners, it's a very attacking option. And then, yeah, you can, you know, sort of
03:00create pressure with the seam from one side and always allow yourself with the spin to operate
03:04from the other end. But looking at the surface, you know, for me, it looked like a good surface,
03:11and I think as the test match will go on, you know, something will start to happen. But, yeah,
03:17for us, we've prepared basically for all that can come our way. And like I said, for us,
03:23it's more about the mental challenge now, facing these conditions, batting time,
03:29bowling those spells, and getting the ball in the right area.
03:45Yeah, I think it's definitely going to be, it can play a role if, you know, if we, if team's
03:51going to
03:52get the balls to, the ball to reverse a little bit. I mean, we had this morning, we had quite
03:57a,
03:57quite a, a big shower. So sometimes that will, will make the outfield, you know, a little bit
04:02softer. And it's a bit harder, it takes a little bit longer for the ball to reverse. But, yeah, I
04:08feel,
04:08yeah, in, in, in these conditions, it's all about your mindset. You know, if you're a fast bowler,
04:14if you're going to bowl, go bowl the shortest spells, you know, the energy you put in the ball
04:18there into the areas, you always have opportunity as the test match will go on. And hopefully there
04:23will be a little bit of up and downs in uneven bounds. But, um, yeah, I found here, even back
04:29in
04:29our playing days, you know, if you hit the deck, if you ask questions on a good length, you always
04:34stood a chance of, of picking up the results. Um, so I think for us, it's just to get the
04:39ball in that,
04:39with that energy. I think it's going to be just good wickets, you know, uh, it is, it is a
04:56venue
04:57or a country where, like I said, in the earlier question, it's my set, your mindset is very, very
05:01key. Um, you know, the ball will go softer after 20, 35 hours, expect that, but then how, what is
05:07our
05:07next step, you know, and to be, to be, uh, street smart in terms of how we're going to use
05:12the crease,
05:13uh, how we're going to use our short ball, you know, all those conditions and all those sort of
05:17situations we need to, to, to be able to do some of it quite quickly. And then, um, yeah, execute
05:23that
05:23and, uh, you know, and with a lot of energy go into those areas. Uh, morning morning, uh, of course,
05:29in the last couple of test matches here, we have seen the batters, uh,
05:32four in six centuries. Do you expect the same this time around? Uh, because we've seen, uh, we've seen
05:38Bangladesh in three years coming in three centuries. Yeah.
05:41Australia's team with Alex Carey scoring, having four in this and Washington. Do you expect this pitch,
05:45at least in the first couple of testings, say, for the batters?
05:48For sure. Uh, I think, I think it's a, it's a good looking surface on the eye. Um, and yeah,
05:54I'll be,
05:55I'll be slightly surprised if it, if it goes the other way. Traditionally, you know, yeah, the, the first two
05:59days
05:59it belongs to the batting, um, batting side or your, your first innings, basically,
06:03if the batting side is crucial to get runs on the board. Um, so yeah, I think that's,
06:07that's going to be important to, to, to whatever happens with the toss, you know, um, to, to do,
06:13if you bat first, to make sure you go big and if you bowl first, get the ball in the
06:17right area.
06:17So those disciplines are going to be, going to be important. Uh, and then from there, as the day's gone,
06:22I mean, obviously assess and then come up with, with the best, best options for the day.
06:38Yeah, look, I mean, Koldeep is there. He's, he's, he's, he's attacking, sort of bowler for us.
06:43Chadou, uh, his experience in, in class, we can't look past. Um, so yeah, I think for us, uh, you
06:50know,
06:50they're all, they're all different in their ways. What they do with the ball turns a bit more,
06:55more, slightly more accurate. Um, I don't think it's a, it's a, it's a massive concern for us.
06:59It's just how Schopenhauer is going to use those guys at certain times. Uh, but yeah,
07:05I mean, in terms of skill, they put the skill there to, to get the 20 wickets first.
07:08Okay, last few questions.
07:11Good morning. Uh, the ground is different from the settings and this will be, uh,
07:16they will be hosting the quicker test. What are your thoughts on this ground?
07:20Yeah, I mean, uh, for me, it's one of my favorite grounds, um, you know, in the world,
07:25beautiful backdrop, beautiful city, uh, fantastic venue to play cricket off.
07:30And I think in terms of test match cricket, it's a, it's a real test, you know, it tests everything
07:36from us as a player mentally, physically. So, um, yeah, I mean, I'm, I'm glad to be back here.
07:42I'm glad for the boys to experience this and, you know, hopefully we can put in a good performance
07:45and see you over the next five days. Have a Saturday.
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