Indian Test cricket skipper Virat Kohli has admitted that the Asia Cup T20 2016 will be a huge litmus team for the entire team ahead of the ICC World T20 2016.
India clash swords with Bangladesh at the Sher-e-Bangla stadium in Mirpur, Dhaka, on Feb. 24, in their Asia Cup 2016 opener. Kohli, who is seen as an integral part of the team, has mentioned that the competition will give them immense opportunity to assess the strengths and weaknesses of the team ahead of the ICC World T20, seen as the next-big-thing after the ICC Cricket World Cup.
"Going into the World Cup, the conditions are going to be similar and we will probably be playing all these oppositions at some stage," Kohli was quoted by Press Trust of India on Tuesday. "So, as many teams as we play before the World Cup, it gives us a great opportunity to assess what the teams are like, what the balance is like, what their strengths and weaknesses are, and where do we stand compared to them."
"You can see it (Asia Cup) as a whole package before the World Cup."
Kohli was a key part for the Men in Blue in the India vs Australia T20 series earlier this year Down Under. He scored half centuries in all three T20 games for MS Dhoni's side to record an overall 199 runs from 174 balls from the three matches and play an integral role in guiding India to a 3-0 series win against the Aussies.
The swashbuckling 27-year-old batsman was rested for the India vs Sri Lanka T20 series in February, but that didn't prevent the Indian side from recording a 2-1 series win against the Lankan Lions.
Kohli is now looking ahead to making the best use of his strengths in the Asia Cup to judge his readiness for the ICC World T20 2016, starting next month.
"Asia Cup has always been a challenging tournament, it's like a mini event as far as the sub-continental teams are concerned," Kohli continued. "It's an opportunity to test yourself as I said against the best teams in the sub continent. It's a competitive tournament with different opposition with different set of skills testing you all the time."
