Former England captain Nasser Hussain said that he had been told by England coach Duncan Fletcher, who helmed the coaching setup for India from April 2011 to the end of the 2015 World Cup, about current captain Virat Kohli’s potential.
“I was speaking to Duncan Fletcher about him and he said ‘watch out for this lad. He has a real fight and character in him’,” Hussain said in Star Sports show ‘Cricket Connected’.
By the end of Fletcher’s tenure, Kohli had already become the permanent captain of the Indian Test team. In 2017, he took over from MS Dhoni in all formats of the game and has stayed in the position since.
India have enjoyed a prolonged run at the top of the Test rankings under Kohli. “He is not worried about stats. The only stats he is worried about is the win/loss column,” said Hussain.
Kohli is constantly rated as the best batsman in the world due to his ability to change games regardless of the format. He averages above 50 in all forms of international cricket. In Tests, he has scored 7,240 runs at an average of 53.62 and in ODIs, he has scored 11,867 runs at an average of nearly 60.
Had everything gone according to plan, Virat Kohli would have been leading the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) franchise in the 13th edition of the tournament and trying to end their wait for a maiden title win.
The cash-rich IPL stands postponed at least till 15 April but several media reports are now claiming that given the situation surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic in India, the tournament is all set to be postponed indefinitely.
Latest records state that the virus has infected more than 16,00,000 people globally while it has also claimed over 1,00, 000 lives worldwide. In India, there are more than 8,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19 while over 250 have lost their lives.
(With inputs from IANS)