Indian head coach Rahul Dravid has backed Virat Kohli to make a match-winning contribution in the rescheduled Test match against England. Dravid said going by the lofty standards which Virat Kohli has set, people only see hundreds as success.
Kohli has always been a consistent performer for the Indian team in all three formats of the game but his form isn’t been the best in the last couple of years. The talisman had scored his last Test century back in 2019 against Bangladesh in the pink-ball Test match and since then he has failed to reach the three-digit mark in International cricket.
Dravid said even if Kohli makes a 50 or 60, he will be making a contribution to the team’s success.
Dravid said at a pre-match press conference: “As a player, you go through these kinds of phases. I don’t think in Virat’s case, it is a lack of motivation or desire. It’s not about scoring three figures, even a 70 on a difficult pitch is worth appreciation. In Cape Town, he didn’t convert it into a century, but it was a good score.”
“Going by the standards he has set for himself, people only see hundreds as a success. But from a coach’s perspective, we want contributions from him, whether it’s a 50 or a 60.”
Meanwhile, Kohli had scored a fine knock of 67 runs in the second innings in the four-day warm-up match against Leicestershire. Dravid added that Kohli is ticking the right boxes before the all-important match.
“He’s not on the wrong side of his 30s. He’s an incredibly fit guy, and one of the most hard-working guys I’ve come across. His desire, his hunger and his whole attitude, looking after himself and his preparations, even the way he batted in Leicester in those conditions, scoring the kind of 50s and 60s. He is ticking all the right boxes, he is doing what he needs to do.”
Kohli is going to hold the key for India in the rescheduled Test match against England and he will look to make a winning contribution to the team. The fifth Test match will be played at Edgbaston, Birmingham on July 1.
