Virat Kohli’s childhood coach Rajkumar Sharma feels that his star disciple is very much capable of breaking a lot of batting records currently held by Sachin Tendulkar.
Kohli has been in the form of his life this season. He was the Man of the ICC T20 World Cup and followed up with a record 973 runs in IPL 2016. His four centuries in the IPL were also a record.
“He is in sublime form at the moment. I don’t remember anyone playing for India being as consistent as Kohli. Even internationally, there won’t be many who have shown the consistency Kohli has shown. With the way he is batting, he is very much capable of breaking Sachin’s records,” Sharma said.
Sharma said that Kohli’s self-belief separates him from the other cricketers. Sharma also said that Kohli’s ability to adapt to different conditions easily is one of the prime reasons for his success.
“What separates him from the rest is the self belief in his ability. He backs his ability and the way he adapts to different conditions against different opposition is very good and it is a very important reason why he is successful. And he is always hungry for runs.”
Kohli was heavily criticized after a disastrous performance in England in 2014. One of the mainstays of Indian batting, Virat Kohli painted a shambolic, contrasting picture with his bat in the tour of England.
With scores of 1, 8, 25, 0, 39, 28, 0,7, 6 and 20 in the five Tests, the batsman averaged a poor 13.50 in his ten innings. However, Sharma said that every player goes through that phase.
“England tour was a bad patch and every player goes through that phase. After that, he worked very hard on his game and the result of that you saw in Australia, the World T20 and now the IPL.
“England tour was a rough phase as I said. But it is not a Test for the future as I am very sure he would dominate the next time he is there,” reckoned Sharma.
Apart from his brilliant batting Kohli has received accolades from every corner for his fitness. Sharma too joined the list in praising Kohli for his dedication towards fitness.
“He prepares very well. Hard work everyone does but he does smart work with hard work. For example, every one goes back to their rooms after practice but he goes back and spends an hour or two in the gym.
He has strict control over his diet even though he is very much a foodie. He eats only boiled and grilled stuff along with fruits. He loves to eat. It is just that he is avoiding fats and sugar,” said Sharma.
Sharma also said that Kohli has worked really hard to be in the position he is in now and sees Kohli as a matured guy with controlled aggression, compared to his earlier days.
“Aggression has always been his strength. The only thing is that he should not be over aggressive and cross the line. He was a bit immature earlier but now he is a matured guy, and what you seeing on the field these days is controlled aggression. He has got a very good head on his shoulders.”