Virat Kohli Likes Attacking Style Of Play: Ravichandran Ashwin
Jan 9, 2019 at 4:10 PM
The Indian all-rounder Ravichandran Ashwin has rated Virat Kohli as an aggressive skipper compared to former Indian captain M.S. Dhoni as Ashwin said that Virat is ready to go for some runs in the middle of the innings whereas Dhoni had a different mentality, during the middle overs of the innings, “The difference is in communication. Virat likes attacking, picking wickets at the cost of some runs in the middle. In terms of leadership and communication, Mahi still holds the key because he’s the keeper and brings invaluable experience with him so it’s important that we take valuable tips from him and take the team forward,” Ashwin said ahead of the start of the ODI series against England.
Ashwin also added that the other thing which will be different for him compared to his old captain will be the communication as earlier Ashwin used to have direct communication with the skipper as Dhoni had duty behind the stumps, this will not be the case from now, “It (communication) will be different because of the kind of interactions we will have before and after. When I used to play alongside Mahi, which will not happen from this game onwards, it’s almost about communicating through from the top of the mark to wicket-keeper. Of course, Virat will be around in short cover. We will try to get used to those communications.”
The ICC Test Cricketer of the Year and ICC Test cricket of the year 2016 said that it was a great year for him but now its time for him to look forward in the year 2017, “It was a good year but it is done and dusted. You can’t rest back on your laurels a lot. The game does not give you much time. 2017 is a new year, I am going to start afresh and try and get a good start.
“I would carry forward the confidence into the series, but it’s a different game with the white ball and the white ball does not do enough off the wicket or in the air. It’s lot in favour of batters, but you need to come terms with it and ensure you are one step ahead of the game,” he said.
This will be the first time when R. Ashwin will be playing under Virat Kohli in One-day format with Virat being the regular captain of the team. Though he has played under Kohli in ODI cricket in past but Dhoni was never present in the team. With Dhoni already have left the captaincy job, it will be interesting to see the camaraderie between Ashwin and Kohli as the duo had a great run in the year 2016. Ashwin’s performance is self-explanatory as he was bestowed with two ICC awards for his great performance whereas Kohli was also made the captain of ICC ODI squad. Both the players will be looking to kick off the new era of Indian cricket on a positive note and prepare well for the Champions Trophy 2017.