Strike rate is for bowlers, not batsmen: Kumble

Kolkata, Sep 28 (IANS) Indian cricket team coach Anil Kumble on Wednesday said batsmen should not be too worried about the strike rate as it is for bowlers.

"I know there is a lot of talk about strike rate after the advent of the T20. As far as I was concerned, when I was playing, mostly strike rates were spoken about for bowlers. In the India team you need different characters. You need different quality players," the former India captain told the media at the Eden Gardens.

Kumble said the beauty of Test cricket lies in the challenges with every session being different from the other.

"You need different players with different skill set; there are challenges that happen in a Test match because every session is different. That's the beauty of Test cricket. Strike rates are only relevant to bowlers and not for batsmen. That's how I like to look at it," the former India captain told a media meet at the Eden Gardens.

There has been a lot of talk about Cheteshwar Pujara's slow strike rate in the West Indies with India captain Virat Kohli recently saying he had a conversation with the Saurashtra batsman about improving his strike rate during the recent West Indies tour.