Speaking at a press conference ahead of team's departure for UK on Friday, Indian captain Virat Kohli made it clear that he is available for the first T20 against Ireland in Dublin on June 27.
I am hundred percent ready to go. The neck is fine now. I have had six to seven sessions in Mumbai. I have had good practice and I am absolutely ready to go.Virat Kohli, India Captain
"I went through a fitness test as well so body is feeling fine. Actually, I am ready to get back to the field which is a very rare thing when you play so much cricket. This kind of break makes you excited to go back to field again," he added.
His meticulous build-up plan was thrown haywire by injury but fit-again Indian cricket captain Virat Kohli said missing the much-anticipated county stint before the tour of England has turned out to be a blessing in disguise.
"In hindsight, when I look at it now, it's the best thing that has happened for me. I wanted to go and experience as this is the place where we haven't played so much as there's big gap of four years and you forget what conditions were when you played last time," Kohli said.
I would have gone there feeling 90 percent rather than 110 percent that I feel right now. I would rather be like this as I needed to be fresh for the tour. Although not intended but this is the best thing to have happened.Virat Kohli, India Captain
When head coach Ravi Shastri was asked about YoYo test being a benchmark for getting into the Indian team , he was straight forward in his response.
"You have a certain ability but if you are fit then you can enhance it. That's why we emphasise on YoYo test. If anyone thinks that this is a one-off thing, he is sadly mistaken. He can take a walk," Shastri said in his typical no-nonsense style.
Philosophy is simple -- you pass you play, you fail, you fail. This is not going to go anywhere. The captain leads from the front, selectors are on same page, entire team management is on the same page and boys have responded tremendously well.Ravi Shastri. India Coach
Recently, one of IPL's top scorers Ambati Rayudu failed to clear the 16.1 mark despite scoring 600 plus runs in IPL. This sparked a debate with former selection committee chairman Patil openly questioning the policy decision.
(With inputs from PTI)
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)