Former South Africa opening batter Herschelle Gibbs has reacted on how he was called the ‘favorite cricket’ of the now superstar of the game Virat Kohli ahead of his idol Sachin Tendulkar. It happened during the Under-19 World Cup in 2008 in Malaysia, when Kohli coming into bat called the opener his favourite cricket of that time.
Almost one and half decades later, Herschelle Gibbs has finally opened up on the incident as he has admitted how so many fans used to tag him on ‘X’ or Twitter with the video of Kohli, who by then was supposed to be one of the best batters of the Indian cricket.
The Protea batter has finished his international career with 6167 Test runs in 90 games at an average of nearly 42, with 26 fifties and 14 centuries with a best of 228, at a strike rate of 50.26. The 50-year-old has also been part of 248 ODIs, where he has smashed 8094 runs at an average of 36.13 at a strike rate of nearly 83, with 37 fifties and 21 hundreds, with a best of that famous 175-run knock.
Herschelle Gibbs praised India captain Rohit Sharma
Herschelle Gibbs has spoken about how big an admirer he is of Virat Kohli’s game and the way the former India captain carries himself under pressure, especially during the chases in the 50-over games.
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‘I have. People have tweeted it to me so I did have a look and I was pleasantly surprised. I think it’s quite nice. I’m a big admirer of him.’ The Cape Town-born has expressed to Sports Tak in an exclusive interview. ‘The way he’s played, he’s got the utmost respect with regards to what he’s achieved at international level.’
He also points out what makes Virat so special in the modern generation of the game around all the players.
‘I also think his temperament and character under pressure especially chasing in ODI Cricket is second to none. I think that makes him just a bit more special than the other modern players.’ Herschelle Gibbs continued.
The veteran has praised the captaincy of Rohit Sharma during the Men’s T20 World Cup 2024, where they got the better of South Africa during the final at the Kensington Oval in Barbados.
‘I think they have such a variety of skill and a lot more of depth with regards to what they’ve had in the past. They have a lot of young batters who are very confident and have self-belief.’ The top order batter mentioned. ‘It makes a huge difference when you start showing that character and in particular potential from an early age.’
Herschelle Gibbs feels that India have invested well in their young players for whom one could pay money to watch them play, as he lauded how Rohit has been aggressive in his leadership skills both in international cricket and the Indian Premier League (IPL).
‘Some of the shots that he played were very much a shiny light. I think for India, Rohit’s captaincy has helped him having been around for a long time with Mumbai Indians where similar situations have come up and he has learned to fight it up under pressure.’ The former South African batter expressed.
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He ended up shedding light on how the years of captaincy have helped him in the long run while his aggressive batting in the last few games of the event has worked out for India.
‘The years of experience definitely showed in his captaincy and I think his batting in the last couple of games was good as he took his game to another level.’ Herschelle Gibbs concluded. ‘I mean the intensity with which he played was complete turnaround so he definitely peaked at the right time. You play your best game in the biggest moments.’