India's Test captain said though his team was good on the skills front, it needed to improve on the fitness aspect. All players selected for Bangladesh trip underwent a fitness test on Saturday
Test captain Virat Kohli (centre) during a training session with his India teammates at Eden Gardens in Kolkata yesterday
Kolkata: India's Test captain Virat Kohli said though his team was good on the skills front, it needed to improve on the fitness aspect.
Test captain Virat Kohli (centre) during a training session with his India teammates at Eden Gardens in Kolkata yesterday. Pic/PTI
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"The team is in good shape. On the skills front, we have been really good for a while and looking for consistency. Fitness is an area that we need to strengthen more and more going ahead so that we have less injuries and we play the same set of players to build a match-winning combination," he said.
"Fitness is the primary focus of any game. If we strengthen that over a period of six to eight months from now that will help us in the coming three-four years and guys going through tough phase in Test match.
"We feel that fitness is an area that we need to improve and I feel it is the need of the hour. Bringing minor changes in attitude, in fitness level, in improving our skills, is something we plan to do as a whole unit," the 26-year-old said.
Following recurrent injuries to players, the BCCI got all the players selected for the Bangladesh trip undergo fitness test at the Eden Gardens on Saturday.
This is the first time that the cricket board decreed that all cricketers need to take the fitness test before embarking on the tour. Hitherto, only injured players were subjected to a fitness test prior to a series.