Ray Jennings Credits Virat Kohli For His Son Keaton’s Brilliant Debut Ton
Dec 10, 2016 at 9:20 AM
India holds a lot of fond memories for Ray Jennings. After all, this is the place where he has spent some of the best years of his coaching career. The South African took charge of the Royal Challengers Bangalore in the second season and although he did no win a trophy with them, but he did a remarkable job with the team that finished seventh in the inaugural season. And the country has now become even more special as his son, Keaton Jennings, scored a century on his England debut against the world number one Test team.
Speaking to the The Times of India, he said: “I’m proud that Keaton has done so well on debut. Considering he has debuted and done well in a country where I’ve spent a lot of time is special. I would have loved to watch him live in action. But given my connection with India, there would have been a lot of focus, so I thought it was important for me to leave him by himself and allow him to enjoy the opportunity that he had gained rather than worry about the people around him.”
Jennings Sr. revealed India was not an unknown territory for his 24-year-old son. The former RCB coach said he shared his vast knowledge of the Indian conditions with his son but did not take credit for his son’s brilliant knock.
“Keaton has been to India twice earlier during the IPL with me, so he’s experienced India earlier. Over the years, I have learnt a lot about Indian grounds, players and conditions and know them pretty well. So I shared my Indian experiences with him. I told him what I knew, but it was up to him to execute it. I told him to enjoy the opportunity, pressures and privileges, “Jennings said.
When asked about his son’s knock from a coach’s point of view, he said:“Going into a team which is 2-nil down and playing your first game in India and opening the innings in that was a tough challenge he had. His performance -based on the pressures and situations -was a good one.”
In a place where even the best in the business have struggled to play the spinners. Keaton batted brilliantly to keep the in-form Indian spinners at bay and become the 19th English batsman to score a century on Test debut.
When asked about the reason behind his son’s terrific display against the spinners, he said: “I’ve worked with and watched Virat Kohli over the years. He is the best player of spin in the world. And when you have to play spin in India there is a lot to learn from the way he plays, so we fed off that knowledge.”