England all-rounder Will Jacks has praised star India batter and Royal Challengers Bengaluru teammate Virat Kohli’s intensity during training and opened up on his partnership with him during the match against Gujarat Titans in the recently-concluded Indian Premier League.
In eight matches for RCB during his debut season, Jacks scored 230 runs at an average of 32.85 and a strike rate of over 175, with a century and fifty. His highest score during the tournament was an unbeaten 100 besides taking a couple of wickets with his part-time off-spin.
Jack’s moment of fame came during the April 28 match against the Titans, when he unleashed carnage with the willow, to slam a 41-ball 100, leaving Kohli at the other end in awe of his power-hitting skills.
Chasing 201 to win, Jacks consumed 31 balls for his first fifty and within a span of the next 10 deliveries raced to his maiden IPL ton with the help of four fours and 10 glorious sixes, and more importantly added 166 runs in the partnership with Kohli to help the RCB register a win.
Terming Virat as a “very good role model”, Jacks felt youngsters need to copy his stye of doing the hard yards day in and day out.
“I think, firstly his attitude towards training. Every day is a day to get better. And that was really obvious. Some guys say it is harder to do that but with him, it was very obvious. And the way he goes into the game. Every ball, 100 per cent intensity,” Jacks said.
“When I batted with him in a chase, it was how he picked out how to do the chase. It was not just going ball by ball, looking ahead, really to see where he could plan and take risks at a certain time.”
“He has done it for such a long time and I can appreciate that as a young guy who often does not want to do the hard yards, but you see him doing it and want to copy that,” he added.
Jacks, who has represented England in two Tests, seven ODIs, and 12 T20Is, is now hoping to carry on the momentum into the ICC men’s T20 World Cup starting June 1 in the West Indies and the US.
The Englishmen are placed in Group B with rivals Australia, Scotland, Namibia and Oman. England will start their campaign against Scotland on June 4.