Unruffled by the criticism meted out because of his constant tinkering with the playing XI, Indian captain Virat Kohli slammed the critics for blowing things out of proportion.


“That’s basically your thinking,” Kohli said on being asked whether the chopping and changing hurt the mindset of a player. "I don't think anyone is thinking like that. These are just things that are created on the outside and people like to make a lot of nothing. For us, the priority is to win games of cricket.”


As astonishing as it may sound, Virat Kohli in his 37 Tests as captain has never fielded the same playing XI in successive matches – the longest streak by any captain. While some of his decisions have been condition-influenced, a few of those, like playing Kuldeep in a rain-hit second Test at Lord’s or dropping Pujara in the series opener, have come under severe criticism.


Such has been the indecision, that India are yet to figure out their first-choice opener, let alone their opening combination half-way into the series. Reports suggest Shikhar Dhawan, who was dropped after the first Test to bring Pujara back at no.3, will get his spot back in the side either in the expense of Vijay or Rahul for the third Test at Trent Bridge.


However, there is no guarantee that Dhawan will hold onto his place for the remaining three matches. For that matter, very few apart from the captain himself can bet for their spots for the rest of the series. Not a healthy team environment to be in by any stretch of imagination. But not according to Kohli.


“For us, the priority is to win games of cricket. We are not thinking whether someone's career is on the line or what's going to happen to their future. We need to focus on this Test and not think about whether someone's career is on the line. It's quite bizarre thought to have," Kohli said defending the team management’s decisions.


For the do-or-die third Test too, India are set to make a few changes with Rishabh Pant set to make his Test debut and Jasprit Bumrah certain to make a comeback in place Kuldeep.


"Very excited with Jasprit getting fit again. He's an attacking bowler who bowls good lines and lengths. He's very consistent in hitting the areas that are required at the Test level. He showed that in South Africa already and he's one guy who's really aggressive in mind.”


Talking about the possibility of an additional batsman, the captain said, "Well it depends on what the surface is like. If it's got enough and has lots of assistance for the bowlers, the extra batsman might come into play. If not, if the pitch is going to be quite even for batting and bowling, then obviously picking up 20 wickets is going to be the priority.


"The batsmen will have to take responsibility and get the runs on the board. If you don't pick 20 wickets, as I said in the past, you can score as many runs as you want; it's not about saving one discipline but one discipline taking responsibility of their job and the other discipline taking responsibility of theirs," Kohli added.