Rohit Sharma’s “conversation” with him has enabled Virat Kohli to stay calm and get back to his “original template,” and Kohli is all praise for Sharma.
In the meaningless Super 4 Asia Cup game against Afghanistan, Kohli eventually reached his 71st international hundred, and the BCCI.TV post-game show included the current and past captain engaging in serious conversation and the occasional bit of humour.
There was clear communication from the management, and the space that you gave me made me feel relaxed, so when I came back (after break), I was excited about what I could contribute to the team, Kohli told his teammates. “We will learn from these Super 4 games (against Pakistan and Sri Lanka) as to where we have gone wrong,” Kohli said.
There are many ways to skin a cat, and Kohli informed his captain that he had come to the realisation that he should adhere to his tried-and-true “template,” where hitting sixes isn’t always a priority.
I can (strike sixes) if the circumstances requires, but I am better at finding gaps, so as long as I can smash many boundaries, it will still serve the purpose, said Kohli. “I banked on solid cricketing shots and six hitting is not a big strength of mine,” Kohli said.
He had actually discussed his method with Vikram Rathour, the batting instructor, and Dravid.
It’s not necessarily necessary to hit big in T20 cricket to increase strike rate, so I told the coaches that I would look for holes rather than attempting to hit big.