Former Indian skipper Virat Kohli is set to play his 100th Test match in international cricket. It is going to be a big game for the right-handed batsman. And, ahead of the milestone game, Sunil Gavaskar went down the memory lane and revealed an instance related to Kohli from his debut Test match.
Virat Kohli has accelerated to become one of India’s best batsmen in the last decade or so. He has excelled as a batsman across all formats. Now, he is set for a big milestone in the 1st Test vs Sri Lanka. Along with 100th Test, he might join the elite list of 8k Test runs players.
Virat Kohli showed glimpse of becoming great in cricket back in 2011: Sunil Gavaskar
Virat Kohli made his Test debut against West Indies back in 2011. Sunil Gavaskar one instance from that game when Kohli impressed him with his confidence. The former player said that Fidel Edwards tested Kohli with a brutal bouncer. He added that the pacer gave an angry stare to Kohli. In return, the Indian batsman blew kisses to him through the helmet.
“It has been a fabulous journey. Even in his debut series, he wasn’t afraid to take on the opposition. I don’t know how many of you recall when way back in 2011, he made his Test debut. Fidel Edwards was bouncing him and he was ducking them. After that Edwards stared at Virat and Kohli in return was blowing kisses to him through the grille of the helmet.
“For a newcomer to be dealing that way with one of the fastest bowlers in the world – Fidel Edwards was quick. He was 145 plus – that told you about the young man’s belief in himself and the guts that he showed. Since then, it has only been an upward curve as far as his career is concerned,” said Gavaskar while speaking to Sports Today.
“I think his overall consistency has been remarkable. He just had a blip in 2014 but apart from that he hasn’t had a bad series at all which is remarkable. Because he hasn’t had ordinary series. He has had an excellent, very good or good series. Although he hasn’t got hundreds of late, he has got 70s and 80s,” he added.
“I would think that the situation changed. It was a question of the general interest of the majority. We have seen that despite allowing crowds, hardly anybody is wearing masks. So we are not taking care. And that was the worry when there was news that Mohali had some cases. That is why perhaps there were no crowds allowed. But now it seems that the situation has improved and 50 percent more people are coming in. This is fantastic news because any performer wants to perform in front of the crowd, where he will be appreciated,” he said.
