India batting coach Vikram Rathour has said that the team’s captain Virat Kohli can play each format according to its demands.
While noting that Kohli is one of the most committed members of the squad who knows the game, Rathour, in an interview with Sportskeeda, pointed out that the team’s skipper wants to be the best player in the world and he is working hard towards it.
The coach who also stated that Kohli puts in the hard yards said he is the hardest working cricketer he has ever seen, whose biggest strength is adaptability.
This he said has not made him a one-dimensional player, as he can change his game as the situation demands. He further noted that the captain every format differently, adding that it has been one of his greatest strengths.
Citing an example of the 2016 season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) where Kholi scored 973 runs and almost single-handedly won the title for Royal Challengers Bangalore, the coach said easily adapt to a different situation.
While noting that in the 2016 IPL, where Kholi scored four hundred and hit 40 odd sixes, Rathour said the Indian leader was having a great time on the crease with his good form, after which the national team toured to the West Indies. After his feat in the IPL, the coach was amazed that Kohli went on to play for two further months in the IPL. In his first match after the IPL during the West Indies tour, Kohli scored a double hundred without hitting a single ball in the air.
This the coach said the skipper had put that into his game, and many cricketers can’t do it while playing a different format.
Therefore, he said Kohli could play the way he wants to play because of his adaptability to different situations.
Written by: Oladipupo Mojeed