Issues off the Field Don't Impact Us, Focus on Cricket Only, Says Kohli

India's stand-in captain Virat Kohli addresses the media ahead of the tour of Australia. In the absence of the injured Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Kohli will lead India in the first Test in Brisbane from December 4.

Here are some of the highlights from the press conference:

- Virat Kohli: We have good chance of beating Australia in their homeground. We've done it before. Don't see why we can't do it again.

- Kohli: When we went to Australia last time in 2011, it was a big experience for me. I hadn't witnessed such hostile environment before. My take away from that tour was that we always need to be positive. That is what I'll take forward this time. My experience will help me.

- Kohli on 19-man squad: For the players who are sitting out, it is an opportunity to prepare in those conditions. If there is an injury, there will be players who can fill in. It is better than a player flying home. That makes a big difference.

- Ravi Shastri: MS Dhoni has hardly missed a match in the last few years. It's only fair we give him time to recover. It may be Virat's first Test as a captain, but he will seem like a man who has done that for more that 25 Tests.

- Kohli: It is important to be mentally prepared against the kind of bowlers we are going to face.

- Kohli: When youngster look at Ravi Shastri and listen to him speak, there is a big positive impact.

- Kohli: Our focus is always on cricket, we haven't thought about the off-field issues. I can assure you that we haven't been distracted by what has happened away from the field.

- Kohli: It's always advantageous to have bowlers who bowl in excess of 140-plus kmph. With such bowlers you can compete in Australia. It's a blessing for me. We need to control the game as much as we can and four fast bowlers will be a massive factor for us.

- Kohli: We are only thinking of the positive side at the moment. Our job is to keep negativity away as much as possible.

© ndtv

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Loves Sachin Tendulkar | Admire Virat Kohli | And someone at @ViratGang and justvirat.blogspot.in , may be not someone - everything :)