Virat Kohli was compared to legendary West Indies opener Viv Richards by Ramiz Raja. Ramiz Raja, former Pakistan skipper lavished praise on Indian skipper — Virat Kohli by referring to him as the ‘modern-day Viv Richards’ for his batting heroics and leadership role during the ongoing T20I series against England.
Raja hailed Virat Kohli after India’s win in the fourth and penultimate T20I win over England on Thursday (March 19).
Virat Kohli Referred To Modern Day Viv Richards And Ramiz Raja Says He Instilled Confidence To Ishan Kishan In The 2nd T20I
While Virat Kohli didn’t have a great run with the willow, as he departed after scoring only 1, Ramiz Raja praised the 32-year-old for instilling confidence and a positive mindset among the youngsters in the squad.
Ramiz Raja took an example of youngster Ishan Kishan following the left-hander’s memorable international debut in the second T20I, where he led India to a 7-wicket win in pursuit of 165 courtesy a brilliant 56 off 32 balls. During his maiden innings at the international level, Ishan Kishan was lucky to be batting alongside the skipper, stitching a match-winning 94-run stand, who backed him to the core and gave him confidence as his innings progressed.
Thus, Ramiz referred to Kohli as a modern-day Viv Richards and said on his YouTube channel, “He (Ishan Kishan) was lucky to have a partnership with Kohli because he is a modern day great and in my view he is a modern day Viv Richards. It would have given Ishan Kishan confidence and we can expect a lot from him in the future.”
“Ishan Kishan has great potential and talent. Ishan does terrific power-hitting, he is short-heighted but times the ball sweetly, plays on both offside and leg-side and hits sixes. On the day he is a game-changer and made a brilliant half- century on debut.”
Ramiz Raja further opined, “He played with freedom and he has come in a great environment where the captain at the non-striker’s end claps on his every shot. He has been given the license that we are changing the direction of our batting and you go and hit sixes and fours.
“If you get out in the process, no problem. Unless you identify the outstanding performers of IPL and give the performers a chance, you won’t progress the way it should. India took the chance and it turned out to be great.”
The 22-year-old Ishan Kishan made his debut in the second T20I against England on Tuesday in Ahmedabad and smashed 56 runs off 32 balls which was studded with 5 fours and 4 sixes. He became the second Indian batsman, after Ajinkya Rahane, to score a fifty on his T20I debut.
Virat Kohli Praises Suryakumar Yadav And Ishan Kishan For Valiant Contribution
While Virat Kohli couldn’t carry on for long when he came out to bat in India’s fourth T20I versus England with newcomer Suryakumar Yadav batting at the other end, the Indian captain praised the Mumbai Indians’ (MI) batting star for his scintillating 57 which paved the way for hosts’ 8-run series-levelling win over England.
At the post-match presentation ceremony, Kohli said, “Special mention to Surya, he batted outstandingly well in his first game. Similar to Ishan. They are quite fearless having played in the IPL.”
Being asked to bat first, India posted 185-8 riding on Suryakumar Yadav’s 57. Suryakumar Yadav hit his maiden fifty in international cricket, on Thursday, in only his 2nd match in Indian Blues after not getting a chance to bat in his debut game-the 2nd T20I of the series.
Suryakumar Yadav’s 57 runs came off just 31 deliveries and were studded with six fours and three sixes as he looked comfortable against both pace and spin. He was, however, unlucky to be given out, as there was no conclusive evidence against Dawid Malan taking a clean catch, which could have overturned the on-field decision of ‘out.’
In reply, England managed 177-8 as the T20I series now moves onto the fifth and final encounter, on Saturday (March 20).