Former India player turned politician Gautam Gambhir has recently shared a shocking comment on the India captain Virat Kohli. He said that Virat Kohli doesn’t have Chris Gayle’s “strength” and AB de Villiers’ “ability” but what he has his stunning fitness level which helps him become one of the most successful players across formats around the world.
Virat Kohli, who has been successful in Tests and ODIs, has also left his mark in the shortest format of the game (T20Is), scoring 2,794 runs from 82 games which came at an average of 50.8. “He (Kohli) was always a very smart cricketer, but then he turned his entire T20 career into a very successful one, just by being supremely fit,” Gambhir said on Star Sports.
“Probably because he does not have the strength of Chris Gayle, he doesn’t have the ability of AB de Villiers, he probably does not have the ability of Jacques Kallis or Brian Lara,” he added.
While the veteran was asked what makes Virat Kohli so effective in the shortest format of the game, Gambhir replied, “The biggest strength he’s got is now his fitness and he’s turned that into his game as well, that’s why he has become so successful, so you got to give it to the guy. The most important thing is that he runs really well between the wickets, not many people do it.”
Not only in the international level, but Kohli has also been successful in the Indian Premier League where he has amassed 5,412 runs from 177 games so far. However, Gambhir feels Kohli is more consistent than his teammate and swashbuckling opener Rohit Sharma when it comes to rotating the strike.
“There are very few cricketers in world cricket at this time who can rotate off every ball and that is what Virat Kohli does really well and that’s why he’s different from the rest,” said Gambhir. “You see Rohit Sharma, probably Rohit Sharma doesn’t have that quality which Virat Kohli has to rotate the strike.”
“Rohit Sharma has the ability to hit those big shots, but that’s where Virat Kohli is more consistent than Rohit Sharma. Chris Gayle or AB de Villiers don’t have that ability to rotate the strike, especially against spin bowling, but Virat Kohli has that, that’s why he averages 50,” said Gautam Gambhir, one of the vital cogs of India’s title win in the 2007 and 2011 World Cup.
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