Bengaluru: India's Murali Vijay celebrates his fifty runs on the first day of the one-off cricket test match against Afghanistan, at Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Thursday, June 14, 2018. (Image: PTI)
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Opening batsman Murali Vijay, who was India's top run scorer the last time India toured England in 2014, has said that the team has been playing a "phenomenal brand of cricket" and he wants to play a key role in the team's success in the current tour.
"My frame of mind is to go and contribute for the winning cause. That's how I'm preparing myself for the England series. Every time you travel somewhere else, it's going to be an exciting time for any team.
To be honest, the way we've been playing for the last couple of years, it's been a phenomenal brand of cricket. Hopefully, we can continue on those terms and as a team, we can gel together and make this a special series," Vijay said, talking to Cricbuzz.
Talking about India's last overseas Test tour to South Africa, Vijay said, "I thought we really fought well there, but unfortunately we ended up on the wrong side. If we could have won one of the first couple of Tests, it would've been great. The bowling performance was a great sign for us, and the way the bowlers put their hand up was really great."
Now looking forward to the first Test against England, Vijay spoke about how mental preparation is the key, and his desire to make the series "special".
"Five Tests is a long, long way to go, and hopefully we can focus on the smaller things and work towards a goal. I think we can go to do something special this series. Mental preparation, definitely that's a key aspect. Mentally, you've got to keep upgrading yourself. A lot of factors can be opened up in Test series like this. Actually, I'm properly looking forward to this series, and hopefully, we can pull off something special.
"Once I reach England, there my preparations start. Because of the different conditions there, we can't get that in India. My frame of mind is to go and contribute for the winning cause. That's how I'm preparing myself for the England series."
India's first Test against England will start on Wednesday in Birmingham.
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