Virat Kohli extremely professional in the way he goes about his game: Anil Kumble
Kohli extremely professional in the way he goes about his game: Kumble
Following the appointment of the new Indian coach in the form of Anil Kumble, who has had immense success in his opening tour as the Indian coach, as India registered fair 2-0 win over hosts West Indies in the just concluded four-Test series, led by Indian skipper Virat Kohli, who too has been awesome, both as a player and as a skipper, as Kumble heaves ample praise on him. While Kumble is in the headlines as well, as the new Indian coach, Kohli continues to dominate the headline with his performance, both in and off field, as Kumble is known to have building a sound understanding with the Indian Test skipper. Anil Kumble: Player selection is probably the toughest for coach
Speaking in an exclusive interview to cricbuzz.com, Kumble had plenty to talk about Kohli, as he said, “The last time I saw Virat closely, working on his cricket, being a part of the squad, was with RCB in 2012. From 2012 to 2016, there is a massive difference. All the difference and change has been for the good. He’s extremely professional in the way he goes about his game.I have not seen anyone this professional in terms of looking after his fitness, preparations and work ethic. He probably realized that to be a part of the international set-up and to perform consistently, one needs to be like that, and he has done that. We can see all the good and hard work that he has put in has shown on the field. It clearly shows that he wants be the best and he leads from the front.”
“His intensity is really good. He wants to win all the matches and that goes with everybody in the team. Virat obviously shows it as well on the field. His intensity and aggression is something that I would like to ask him to continue. He was brilliant on the tour. Obviously we were disappointed after the Jamaica Test match, we lost out on time and also we felt that we were in a great position to win the Test match. But immediately we learnt from that and in St. Lucia, when there was hardly any time to pick up 20 wickets, we managed to do that. That’s credit to him and the team.The team responded brilliantly and he also showed as a captain that he had to be different. He is a quick learner and backs himself to execute,” he added. Anil Kumble: Team India is extremely committed
However, it was not just about Kohli, as Kumble praised KL Rahul too, who has been sensational, ever since making his debut in 2015. “I think Rahul has been brilliant. In the West Indies, he came in as a replacement for Vijay and seized that opportunity. He played really well in the practice games. In his short career, he has shown that he can score hundreds in Australia, Sri Lanka, West Indies and what was really heartening was that he could adapt to T20 and score a hundred,” said Kumble.
“It goes to show that he has the game and he also has the mind to adjust and make those adjustments at this young age. It really augurs well for Indian cricket that this young kid has come in and established himself. He has adapted to what the team requires. He is very young, he will only learn more and get better from here,” he added. Anil Kumble, BCCI congratulate India A on their Quadrangular A Series victory
Kumble also heaved some praise for India’s present star spinner Ravichandran Ashwin. “Ashwin has always shown what he is capable of. In the West Indies, there was a conscious decision from the management to push him up the {batting] order. The thinking was that with him batting at No. 6, especially when we played five bowlers, Saha gets relieved of feeling the pressure that he is the last recognized batsman,” he said.
“Ashwin has shown he is capable of batting higher up in Test cricket. Credit to him, he grabbed it by scoring two hundreds in the Test matches. He is a fantastic all-rounder. You can’t ask for a better all-rounder in the team. He gets hundreds, then picks up five-fors and wins you matches. He has been brilliant and I think this home season, you would want him to play all those 13 Tests and pick up lots of wickets, because he is a crucial member of the team,” he concluded.