England pacer James Anderson also opened up about what happened between him and the Indian players during the final session of the third day of the Lord's Test.
Shannon Gabriel extends unreserved apology to Joe Root for sledging
Ben Stokes joined the England squad for a training session for the first time after his six-month lay off from cricket at the Metrico stadium in the Gold Coast in Queensland, Australia on Thursday.
'It is just a case of trying to put a real focus on the cricket rather than the noise that comes with it.'
While Kohli has slipped to 10th on the ICC rankings, the Indian great continues to hold a remarkable Test batting record. He has scored 27 Test centuries and 28 half-centuries and currently has a Test batting average of just under 50.
India pacer Prasidh has been laid low by a lumbar stress fracture that will require the Rajasthan Royals bowling spearhead to go under the knife.
'We'll have to play right at the top of our game to win out there but we couldn't be in a better place to go and challenge them (India).'
New Zealand were in trouble at 37 for 3 at stumps in reply to England's declared first innings total of 325 for 9 at Bay Oval, with seven wickets tumbling in a frantic evening session.
'For what I think is a pretty common non-event, it does seem like everyone has a pretty strong opinion about it.'
Ponting slammed England skipper Joe Root, Stokes and Jos Buttler for the manner of their dismissals
The hosts are without the services of all-rounder Jadeja for the first two Tests of the four-match series against England as he is nursing a thumb injury he sustained on the tour of Australia.
Jhye Richardson will replace injured paceman Josh Hazlewood but opener David Warner has been cleared to play against England in the second day-night Ashes Test.
Rajneesh Gupta presents the interesting numbers from Day 5 of the India-England Test at Lord's.
'I am pretty sure that Morgan went to the selectors and Ashley Giles and said he wanted his best team at all times this year in Twenty20'
'I am very excited for him to put the England shirt on again. It's something he has worked very hard for and thoroughly deserves.'
England assistant coach felt they need not look beyond skipper Joe Root for a template on how to play the shot.
Australia great Ian Chappell says Virat Kohli is an exceptional captain who has carried the Indian team to a higher level, whereas England's Joe Root is a "fine batter but poor captain".
Images from Day 2 of the second Test between England and India, at Lord's, on Friday.
The collective brilliance of the Indian XI in the 2023 World Cup makes a compelling case for each player to be considered for inclusion in every World XI.
Jonny Bairstow led England to within 40 runs of South Africa's first innings total, with seven wickets in hand, on the first day of the second Test at Old Trafford on Thursday.
Kohli's poor show, however, hasn't affected the team much as it is playing extremely well in the white-ball games.
His duel with India stalwart Virat Kohli will be an interesting sub-plot of the match.
Who do you think should be part of England's playing XI for the first Test?
Resurgent KKR face struggling RR, aim to break into top-4
England were 7-1 at stumps with Ben Duckett (4) and Ollie Pope (3) batting together
Andhra skipper Hanuma Vihari batted left-handed and defied speedster Avesh Khan to add 26 runs for the 10th wicket and help his team reach 379 against Madhya Pradesh on the second day of the Ranji Trophy quarter-final.
Collingwood takes over after Chris Silverwood stepped down last week
Jasprit Bumrah, the new 'Smiling Assassin' of Indian cricket, has the potential to become a 'Captain Marvel' if entrusted with full-time responsibility.
Pat Cummins admits he would relish taking the prized wicket of England captain Joe Root in this week's opening Ashes Test in Brisbane even if he had not earned a late promotion into the Australian captaincy.
Play on day three of the first Test match between England and New Zealand at Lord's in London was abandoned due to rain on Friday without a ball being bowled.
The toss is always an important factor in Chennai as chasing anything above 170 to 175 could be a risky proposition.
'The reality is around the rest of the world... teams have had to deal with positive cases... We have to manage it as best we can.'
Images from Day 5 of the first Ashes Test between England and Australia at Edgbaston Cricket Ground in Birmingham on Tuesday.
Rohit Sharma has overtaken captain Virat Kohli to become the top-ranked Test batsman from India.
Here are glimpses of fans adding some Christmas cheer and just having a good time at the MCG on Sunday...
Images from Day 5 of the second Test between England and Pakistan at the Rose Bowl, in Southampton, on Monday
Rajasthan Royals would be banking on their near-perfect combinations in almost all departments of the game to put up another commanding performance when they take on a strong Punjab Kings.
Broad said 'Baz' McCullum had already made a difference.
The five-Test series pours about A$200 million ($145.68 million) into Cricket Australia (CA) coffers through broadcast, sponsorship and ticketing, local media have reported.
India's pacemen produced a terrific display of swing bowling to crush England by 151 runs in the second Test at Lord's on Monday, taking a 1-0 lead in the five-match series.
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