To qualify for the World Test Championship (WTC) final, India need to win a Test and draw the other one against England in the ongoing Test series. But skipper Virat Kohli wants to win both the matches and not think about the WTC points table at present.
The four-match series between India and England currently stands level at 1-1 and now both teams will lock horns in the pink-ball Test, beginning on Wednesday at the Motera Stadium.
Kohli said the hosts' focus is "solely" on the two Tests and the side is not contemplating on what will be the possible scenarios for the WTC finals.
"You can't play for those kinds of reasons. We are not looking to win one and draw one, we are looking to win both Tests. For us, these are two games of cricket and we are solely focused on. What it does afterwards is a conversation for later," said Kohli during the virtual press conference on Tuesday.
"In the present moment we are preparing for tomorrow, we are ready for the grand five days wanting to win a Test match for India then move on to the next one," he further said.
Last year, the ICC had decided to change the point-rating system of WTC due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The WTC table has now been revised to rank teams based on the percentage of points earned from the series played, meaning teams are ranked in order of percentage of points earned.
Earlier this month, the India skipper had expressed disappointment with the logic behind the change in the rating system of WTC. And Kohli for now wants to focus on the two Tests against England and isn't bothered about what lies ahead in the future.
"One day at a time is something we have followed for years and there is no point running far ahead going into the future. You have no idea what's gonna happen so we will focus on what's in the present moment," Kohli said.
