Throwing weight behind Virat Kohli after the Indian skipper extended his century drought in the England series, legendary cricketer Kapil Dev has backed the swashbuckling batsman to shatter records with the willow in the international arena. Even though Kohli always looks on course to shatter a plethora of batting records in the two of the purest formats of the gentlemen’s game, the Indian skipper has never played the gentlemen’s game only for personal accolades or individual scores.
The talismanic skipper is not in any haste or desperation to reach the magical figures whenever he comes out to lead India’s charge in the international arena. At a time when Kohli’s batting has become a focal point in the Indian cricket spectrum, former Team India skipper Kapil extended his support to the batting maestro and opined that the Indian skipper will start notching up big hundreds once he returns back to his old form.
Speaking on the show Uncut, Kapil reminded Kohli’s doubters how the Indian skipper used to score match-winning hundreds for India as the captain of the Asian giants. Kohli has been in exceptional form ever since the premier batsman became the captain of the Indian side across all formats.
“For all these years, when he was scoring runs, no one said anything about captaincy affecting Virat’s batting and now suddenly, there are opinions when there’s been a little up and down in his graph. When he scored those double centuries and so many hundreds, wasn’t there pressure then? It means that his captaincy should not be the focus. Instead, look at his ability,” Kapil said.
Often regarded as the modern-day great batsman of the Indian side, Kohli last scored an international century in November 2019. The Indian skipper has played 96 Test matches in which the run machine has slammed 27 centuries. In the 50-over format, Kohli has 43 centuries to his name for India. The 32-year-old had an eventful series against England although the Team India skipper failed to register a single triple-digit score in four Test matches.
“The graph has surely gone up and down but for how long? Age 28 to 32 is the time when you really blossom. He is now experienced and mature. If he returns to his old form, Virat will not only score a century or double ton; he will give you 300. He is so much mature now and there is no shortage of fitness when it comes to Kohli. He just needs to identify himself and look to score big,” Kapil added.
