Kohli is great but don't be fixated on him: Ross Taylor

New Zealand needs to be wary of more than just Virat Kohli, feels Ross Taylor

Auckland, January 21: Virat Kohli is certainly the best batsman across all the formats of the game at present. New Zealand batsman Ross Taylor admitted to the fact as much but expressed his fears that the Kiwis might get over obsessed with the Indian captain and forget about others in the team like Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan.

1. Beware of Rohit, Dhawan

Taylor warned his side against focussing too much about just Kohli, pointing out that India's batting order is littered with excellent batsmen, not least the openers Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan. "He's (Kohli) a sensational player, the best one-day player going around, quite easily," Taylor told stuff.co.nz. "It's easy to get caught up in him. (But) you've got two pretty good openers at the top, Sharma and Dhawan, before he gets in."

2. Taylor on his own form and role

Taylor has been in sublime form, particularly in the ODIs over the last year. After finishing 2018 as New Zealand's most prolific run-scorer, he began the 2019 with a bang too, amassing 281 runs from three matches against Sri Lanka to top the batting charts. "I've played a few internationals now and understand my role in the team," said Taylor. "I've worked on my game, and try and rotate the strike early and be as busy as I can. Different shots against spinners at different stages have maybe evolved my game in a positive way."

3. Taylor allays injury worries

The Black Caps were a little worried after Taylor sustained a minor injury, a dislocation of his little finger, ahead of the India series. But Taylor played down the concerns, saying he's fully recovered. "It's fine. It looks a lot sorer than it is ... no break, but the ligaments were a bit sore," he said.

4. Bracewell identifies challenge

Kiwi all-rounder Doug Bracewell was looking forward to the challenge of playing India, the No 2 ranked ODI side in the run-up to the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup 2019 to be held in England from May 30. "We're going to find out where we are as a team against one of the best teams in the world," he said.