Gautam Gambhir raved about Virat Kohli ahead of the first Test between India and Bangladesh to be played in Chennai from September 19 onwards. He said that he has seen hunger in Virat Kohli to continue to be the best in the world.
All eyes will be on Kohli and his much-anticipated return to red-ball cricket for India this year. Gambhir stated that Kohli’s workout regimen and determination mirrored his drive to score runs and contribute to the squad in any manner possible.
Virat Kohli last played Test cricket for India on the tour of South Africa. He had missed the home Test series against England due to the birth of his son Akaay.
Gautam Gambhir has stated that Virat Kohli’s main strength is that he still aspires to be the best in the world. The Indian head coach believes that the limited recent red-ball cricket will have no negative impact on the current batting great in the Test series against Bangladesh.
“The most important thing which I saw in him is that he (Virat Kohli) still has the hunger to be the best in the world, and the way he trains, whether it be in the nets or the gym as well. He trains like how a professional athlete or one of the best in the world should train, and that is what is important,” Gambhir said on JioCinema.
Virat Kohli has scored 437 runs at an average of 54.62 in six Tests against Bangladesh. He has two centuries against them, including a 204-run innings in the 2017 Hyderabad Test.
The former Indian opener hailed Kohli’s preparation for the Bangladesh series.
“For me, from Virat’s point of view, that hunger needs to be there, and I can see that hunger when we look forward to the next 10 Test matches. But more importantly, the way he has prepared himself for the Bangladesh series, I think it’s very, very important. Once he gets into that frame of mind, once he gets into that groove, we know what he can do, what he has done for so many years,” Gambhir added.
Virat Kohli’s hunger will be crucial for India on five-Test tour of Australia: Gautam Gambhir
Gambhir added that Kohli’s preparations are critical to his performance in the five-match Test series against Australia.
“Obviously, what better for him than having the Australia tour coming up because I am sure he loves playing in Australia. That’s for most of the guys as well. They want to try and still be the best, whether it’s Virat Kohli, (Ravichandran) Ashwin or (Ravindra) Jadeja. They still have that hunger, which is a great thing,” he said.
He also stated that Virat, along with Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin, have a hunger to perform, which motivates the next generation of players.
“Someone like Virat playing 100 Test matches or Ashwin playing more than 100 Test matches, still want to be the best, still want to improve every day, and that is why I keep saying that Indian cricket has been very fortunate that they have got guys like these in the dressing room, and they are great role models for the next generation. When you wake up in the morning, you want to be the best every day, and that is something a lot of the next generation has to learn from these guys,” Gambhir stated.
Kohli has amassed 8848 at an average of 49.15 in 113 Tests. Ashwin, meanwhile, has picked up 516 wickets in 100 Tests while contributing 3309 runs with the bat.
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