Virat Kohli’s U-19 coach shows how the star batter got better with every passing game

Virat Kohli had nothing to be proud as he returned from a forgotable visit to England by James Anderson in 2014 with his pride. To make himself vocal on the big stage, Kohli dialed his under -19 coach Lalchand Rajput. Sachin Tendulkar also gave some suggestions, but a two -week training camp in Mumbai with Rajput was a real turn in Kohli’s career. Kohli’s frustration was justified as a number-134 runs from 134 to 134 and 4 to 54 runs from Odis to 54 runs in-friendly English conditions.

“I knew him from the under -19 days and we had a good synergy because I could understand him. I spent a good time with him -India from 2006 to 2007 with India U19. Therefore, it was good to receive a call from him after the tour of England in 2014, where he had never made a good series,” Rajput told Netherlands.

So, which fields did he work in Kohli’s batting? “We had a two -week camp in Mumbai. By then, he had already improved a lot as a batsman for his U19 days, and was clear that he was on his way to become a great player. It was a matter of working in some areas.

Rajput said, “His head was falling slightly and his footwork was a bit indecent. Therefore, we did a little work on those areas. He has always been receptive and adaptive as a batsman, and he did so here as he made changes quickly before going to Australia.”

Those two weeks of hardness did not fail in Kohli as the Delhi man firmly established himself as a prominent batsman during the tour of Australia from November 2014.

Kohli scored 692 runs in Adelaide after Master in Melbourne and hundreds of people in Sydney, 692 runs on an average of 86.50 with four centuries.

It started climbing Kohli, rarely touched by any other batsmen of his time, 5347 runs out of 55 matches with an average of 21 hundreds of 63.65.

Rajputs were not completely surprised.

“He just believes in excellence. He does not want to be number 2, he always wants to be number 1. He is his hunger and pride that he plays,” he said.

However, former India batsman Kohli was a little surprised by a sudden departure from Test cricket, a format that he gave his heart and effort.

“I will always say that he is very fit, he could play some more seasons. He is so fit and emotional that I think he has a lot of cricket.

He said, “We would like to see him, but again it is his personal decision and he must have thought a lot about it before taking it and we have to respect it.”

Now that Kohli has retired from Test cricket, Rajput feels that the cricket community will remember its supercharged presence.

“He really likes Test cricket and has always advocated it. He always believed that Test cricket should be taken very seriously and showed him that the way he used to go to Test cricket. I think Test cricket has lived very much because of him.

He said, “I don’t know what the future is, but surely he will remember by testing cricket. The cricket community will remember him overall,” he said.

Rajput said that the next generation players would find it difficult to change the Titans like Kohli and Rohit Sharma, at least in the beginning, which also retired from trials a few days ago.

“It will be difficult to fill these shoes, and there will be a lot of pressure on them. But since India has got a lot of players, I am sure someone will extend his hand. England will have a tough tour without these two, but we have done well in the past.

“So there will be someone who can raise his hand and say, yes, I am here on this tour and hold that opportunity with both hands,” he explained.

Who should lead India in England’s five -match tour because Rohit has vacated the role of leadership? “I know that everyone is talking about Shubman Gill. We are thinking about him being a future captain. But I still think that Jasprit Bumrah should be the captain because whenever Rohit was not there, he stepped as a captain, and he performed well in that one exam in Perth (vs Australia).”

However, Rajput said that the selectors would consider Bumrah’s fitness as they had to take out one backward against the Australians from the Sydney test.

“His fitness … I think they will talk about whether he will be available for the entire tour or even the season or not. So this is the main point. So, I think these two are the only options for us,” he said.

(Except for the headline, the story has not been edited by NDTV employees and is published by a syndicated feed.)