Changing mindset crucial before Test series: Kumble

TIL Desk Sports/ Emphasising that batting for a longer duration will be key, India’s chief coach Anil Kumble says they are focussing on changing the mindset of the batsmen from shorter to longer format ahead of the Test series against West Indies, starting here tomorrow. “We are focusing at changing the mindset of batsmen in terms of coming from shorter format into a longer format and the batting time as it is important to bat for a longer duration,” said Kumble, who played 132 Test matches, in his career.

Indian cricketers played for about two months in the IPL before embarking on a short tour to Zimbabwe where they played ODIs and T20s. Kumble said being boring is what the bowlers need to do in Test Cricket.  “In the bowling department, we will be focusing of consistent lengths and being boring. That’s what we need to do when playing Test cricket.

The emphasis will also be on the catching as they are important to win the games,” said Kumble, while responding to queries from fans during an Q/A session on twitter. Kumble said both spinners and pacers will have to bowl in tandem on the slower West Indies wickets. Kumble, who took 619 Test wickets, said that Test cricket is real test of character for the cricketers.