Virat Kohli in action© BCCI
Known for his intensity and her relentless desire to win, Virat Kohli never liked training matches and rather preferred net sessions on the most “spicy” counter with Pacers who were going at 16 yards, the former Bowling coach of India, Bharat Arun on Tuesday. Arun, who was part of the group of basic coaches during the golden years of Kohli as captain of India, described these times as the “best moments” of his career. “He will miss Indian and global testing and his character. I spent some of my best moments as a bowling enthusiast in India with Virat Kohli as a captain,” said Arun in PTI during an interaction.
“He never liked training matches,” recalls Arun.
“He always thought that the intensity was missing in one way or another and has never really appreciated the training games. Instead, he would like to spend more time in the Nets and would always choose the most spicy counter and bring the quieuses to make a bowl at 16 meters – or to launch at 16 meters.
The fact is – he always needed a challenge. This is what made him move forward, “he added.
Arun recalled what he described as a “pivotal moment” before the 2018 boxing test against Australia in Melbourne with the series locked at 1-1.
“Virat had just scored a hundred fantastic in Perth, but we did not win this match,” he said.
“Upon entering Melbourne, it was Virat who literally changed the state of mind of the locker room. He made everyone believe that we could do it and did his activities as a leader in an unequaled way.” India won this test and sealed a historic serial victory, their first on Australian soil.
Kohli retired with 9,230 points in 123 tests, including 30 centuries, with an average of 46.85. His record as captain – 40 victories in 68 tests – is the best of all Indian skipper.
“He respected the format more than anything else and we will miss,” he concluded.
(With the exception of the title, this story has not been published by NDTV staff and is published from a unionized flow.)
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