Former Australian skipper Ian Chappell believes the best of Virat Kohli is yet to come. Virat Kohli has scored 544 runs in the eight innings as he has looked the standout batsman thus far against England.
Kohli has scored his runs at a staggering average of 68 as he has checked all the boxes. Former legendary Australian captain Ian Chappell said there aren’t many who have more will to succeed than Virat Kohli.
In fact, Kohli is known to play with a lot of passion and always likes to give his 120% on the field. He has worked hard on his game and has reaped the fruits for his hard work.
“I don’t know that there are many with more will to succeed than Virat,” Chappell said while speaking to CricketNext. “He has a real desire. Something’s driving him that is beyond what most people are capable of. I think we still haven’t seen the best of him. I think maybe not better to come, but more of the good to come. What he has done in England on this tour has been quite exceptional.
Meanwhile, Kohli has set up new standards with his consistency. Kohli has surpassed Sachin Tendulkar in many ways as he has definitely exceeded the expectations. Ian Chappell believes Kohli has the appetite to be the best in the difficult conditions.
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“He has probably exceeded what anyone would have expected. I think after (Sachin) Tendulkar, most people felt that’s the pinnacle but the sport has a funny way of always throwing somebody up who can exceed what the champions of the past have done. Kohli as well as having great physical talent has the mental capacity and the emotional capacity to deal with what it takes to be successful in that really harsh environment.”
On the other hand, there is no denying the fact the game has drastically changed. Bats have improved massively and even the mishits are carrying for sixes, which is a tad unfair on the bowlers.
“The bats, they have definitely changed,” Chappell said. “The thickness of the bats isn’t much heavier than the ones we used but the weight and the mass of the bat is spread very differently. So, you get better results with mishits than we used to do.
Chappell believes nuts and bolts of the game has changed over the years. Batsmen are required to play much closer to the body due to the change in the conditions of the pitches.
“There are not the demands to get as close to the ball when the wickets are good and because of one-day cricket, the preparation of pitches for one-day cricket has had an impact on the Test pitches for a long period of time. Because the bats demanded that you hit the ball in the middle, players learnt to get closer to the ball, well forward and well back. They are things that have changed.”
Meanwhile, Virat Kohli is one of the most consistent batsmen in the world. Thus, the Indian captain is rewriting the history books with his skills sets. Kohli is just 29 years old and he is going to keep producing runs like a machine.