Virat Kohli advises openers Shikhar Dhawan, Abhinav Mukund to grab the opportunity

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Colombo, July 21: India skipper Virat Kohli feels the upcoming series against Sri Lanka in the island nation will be an opportunity for Shikhar Dhawan and Abhinav Mukund in absence of regular opener Murali Vijay.

Kohli has adviced both the openers to grab the opportunity at hand and perform well against Sri Lanka in the three Test series to cement their positions in the side.

"Every player comes to the team wanting to perform. Injuries are unfortunate part of sport. (Murali) Vijay was back from rehab and played a game and told selectors he was not match fit. That is the kind of culture being created. People are honest," Kohli said during media conference after arriving here.

"Abhinav (Mukund) is there, he has played lot of domestic cricket. Shikhar got a hundred here last time and then he had to miss couple of games.

Either Dhawan or Mukund will be opening the Indian innings along with KL Rahul, who will be team's first choice opener.

Kohli also cited the example of middle-order batsman Cheteshwar Pujara, who opened the innings for India in the must win Test match against Australia in Dharamsala, saying guys are keen at grabbing opportunities.

"(Cheteshwar) Pujara opened in the last Test (in Dharamsala). So guys are looking these scenarios as opportunities rather than getting under pressure. I am sure they are going to be up for it," said Kohli.

The 28-year-old also admitted that the team will have to make a mental change from white ball to red ball cricket as India are will be playing their first Test after March.

Team India reached Sri Lanka for almost a seven week long full-fledged tour starting with the first Test at Galle from July 26.

"This game rewards people who are brave and who are willing to do the hard yards and that is something that we as a team and us have worked towards. Transition initially can take a few months, but after that it is all about mentally how much you believe you are there is what counts," Kohli added further.

Team India won the series 2-1 when they last toured here for a Test series. It was Kohli's first assignment as a full time Test skipper and India lost the first match at Galle, but they came back strongly and defeated a strong Lankan side in the remaining to Tests to win first Test series in the island nation.

India will be playing a two-day warm-up tie against Sri Lanka President XI from Friday (July 21), ahead of the first Test. Focus will be on Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul, who are coming to the side after recovering from injuries.

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