After that carnage at Bengaluru there'll be a lot of posts coming about Virat and AB De villiers. This one is not about them, but it is definitely about one among them. The man is Virat Kohli.
Having following him from his debut, he has always been a player who keeps improving. He was an Orthodox player, didn't have any outrageous skills to smash the ball everywhere, doesn't slog, never even had a pull shot when he made debut.
But what he had was outrageous hunger for victory, eagerness to improve and an unbelievable work ethic. The way improve his skills in every match he plays is unbelievable. The rate at which he does that is dangerously scary for the other players who could never keep up with him.
To start of, he was a predominantly leg side player who had a cover drive. Rahul Dravid said once that when he first met Virat at RCB he couldn't take on the short ball. After six months, in a camp he saw Virat playing it with ease. That is the thing about him. He keeps improving as a player every single day.
Back in 2011, he had a torrid IPL season. He said that he was looking at the mirror and telling himself that if he is gonna remain the same he is not going to sustain at this level. That is when he took his fitness seriously and after that the stats are there to see.
After that unforgettable summer in England, when everybody was resting he went to his idol for improving his game. After that he entirely changed his game. His stance became a bit wider. His drives became punches. It changed so much that his flicks which used to go through square and fine leg were going in front of square now. It did him a lot of good that he score a bulk of runs.
He has scored so much of runs, but I rarely see him slogging. There was always a method in his shots. I used to say my brother that Rohit can hit big sixes because he can slog through the line. But with Virat even a knee high full toss will be dealt with a cricketing shot. In all those sixes he has hit, there'll be an essence of cricketing method. But well, who am I to say that. He changed that too. In the match yesterday probably for the first time I saw him clear his front leg and thump Pravin Tambe over long on for six.
Me and my brother used to discuss about the bottom hand of MSD. The way he used to send a wide yorker over long off in those prime days. This man Virat has quite a bottom hand too. The way he plays the spinners, especially the way he swipes it through mid wicket is amazing. There was one shot against Faulkner in the world T20. He dances down the track tapped the ball of chest height over long off for six. It was like a table tennis tap of the bottom hand. I keep playing that video again and again and just wonder how did he do that !!...
In the IND vs PAK match in the T20 world cup, the first shot by Virat was a square drive of the back foot. That moment I was like "Jeez!!! This man is amazing. I have never seen him play this shot in all those years. How does he keep on improving every single game and increasing his range of shots!". It is not possible unless he have an extremely good work ethic and hunger for victory.
After the loss against Mumbai, he says that he loves the situation where they have to win three out of three. I am not saying he will do it. But his attitude towards the challenges is too good. That is one thing I admire about him. That is the quality he wants to plant in his team.
He has become a virus today. We can clearly see his influence in players like KL Rahul. Provided that India is going to play a lot of test matches in the coming season, if his attitude spreads through the team then that will definitely take this team to greater victories. If this man infects the team with his attitude and work ethic it will definitely do a greater good for Indian cricket.
Having following him from his debut, he has always been a player who keeps improving. He was an Orthodox player, didn't have any outrageous skills to smash the ball everywhere, doesn't slog, never even had a pull shot when he made debut.
But what he had was outrageous hunger for victory, eagerness to improve and an unbelievable work ethic. The way improve his skills in every match he plays is unbelievable. The rate at which he does that is dangerously scary for the other players who could never keep up with him.
To start of, he was a predominantly leg side player who had a cover drive. Rahul Dravid said once that when he first met Virat at RCB he couldn't take on the short ball. After six months, in a camp he saw Virat playing it with ease. That is the thing about him. He keeps improving as a player every single day.
Back in 2011, he had a torrid IPL season. He said that he was looking at the mirror and telling himself that if he is gonna remain the same he is not going to sustain at this level. That is when he took his fitness seriously and after that the stats are there to see.
After that unforgettable summer in England, when everybody was resting he went to his idol for improving his game. After that he entirely changed his game. His stance became a bit wider. His drives became punches. It changed so much that his flicks which used to go through square and fine leg were going in front of square now. It did him a lot of good that he score a bulk of runs.
He has scored so much of runs, but I rarely see him slogging. There was always a method in his shots. I used to say my brother that Rohit can hit big sixes because he can slog through the line. But with Virat even a knee high full toss will be dealt with a cricketing shot. In all those sixes he has hit, there'll be an essence of cricketing method. But well, who am I to say that. He changed that too. In the match yesterday probably for the first time I saw him clear his front leg and thump Pravin Tambe over long on for six.
Me and my brother used to discuss about the bottom hand of MSD. The way he used to send a wide yorker over long off in those prime days. This man Virat has quite a bottom hand too. The way he plays the spinners, especially the way he swipes it through mid wicket is amazing. There was one shot against Faulkner in the world T20. He dances down the track tapped the ball of chest height over long off for six. It was like a table tennis tap of the bottom hand. I keep playing that video again and again and just wonder how did he do that !!...
In the IND vs PAK match in the T20 world cup, the first shot by Virat was a square drive of the back foot. That moment I was like "Jeez!!! This man is amazing. I have never seen him play this shot in all those years. How does he keep on improving every single game and increasing his range of shots!". It is not possible unless he have an extremely good work ethic and hunger for victory.
After the loss against Mumbai, he says that he loves the situation where they have to win three out of three. I am not saying he will do it. But his attitude towards the challenges is too good. That is one thing I admire about him. That is the quality he wants to plant in his team.
He has become a virus today. We can clearly see his influence in players like KL Rahul. Provided that India is going to play a lot of test matches in the coming season, if his attitude spreads through the team then that will definitely take this team to greater victories. If this man infects the team with his attitude and work ethic it will definitely do a greater good for Indian cricket.
Gomzzzz.....super
ReplyDeleteThanks da
DeleteAll the best. Way to go....
ReplyDeleteGetha irku da
ReplyDeletethanks machii
Delete