'Team culture helping newcomers to thrive'

Karun Nair, Jayant Yadav, Parthiv Patel, Abhinav Mukund, Kuldeep Yadav and now Hardik Pandya – whether they have come in as replacements or as first-choice players, they have straightaway fitted into the system and have delivered immediate results.

Nair scored a triple ton while filling in for Ajinkya Rahane. Jayant slammed a ton and picked crucial wickets against England when he replaced Amit Mishra. Parthiv Patel put up gritty shows at the top of the order when he was recalled to take the place of injured stumper Wriddhiman Saha. Abhinav scored a fifty in the first Test while Kuldeep sparkled with a second four-for in his second Test here on Sunday. Pandya has been impressive with his all-round performances and skipper Virat Kohli attributed their success to the culture within the team that is embracing and welcoming of the newcomers, putting them at ease and assimilating into the group in no time.

“The way we have embraced each other and accepted each other with our different personalities and individuality, and that is the reason why people coming in feel like they don’t have to do anything different from what they know already,” Kohli underlined. “It gives them an opportunity to go out there and believe in themselves and you never know. If you keep the environment like that, then people will take lesser time to go out there and become mature cricketers because they don’t feel any pressure from the group itself,” he observed.

Kohli said it has taken this Indian team a while to build this culture where there is no disparity between a senior and a junior or an established superstar and rookie player.

“Culture can only be built when everyone buys into it,” Kohli stressed while talking about the dressing room ambience. “And the only way that can happen is when you don’t have any judgements (about) people coming in, if you don’t look at them with a critical eye or watch everything they are doing and trying to pick on small things… I think that is something that we have gotten rid of totally. In this team, we are more like a bunch of friends playing together rather than a senior or a junior. We don’t even think of the number of games an X has played or a Y has played within the change room. It is all about who you see every day. You can joke around with anyone inside the group and that I feel is something that makes me feel proud of this particular unit,” he offered.