Former Indian captain and batting maestro Virat Kohli made a decent return to the Indian t20I side. Virat Kohli, who was going through a lean patch, scored a steady 35 against Pakistan and remained unbeaten on 59 off 41 deliveries in the game against Hong Kong, forming a 98-run stand alongside Suryakumar Yadav as well. Now with the Indian side, all set to lock horns with Pakistan for the second time in the tournament, this time in the Super 4 stage of the tournament, Kohli’s form will be key for the Men in Blue.
Virat Kohli was seen sweating it out ahead of the big game and he also had a lengthy chat with head coach Rahul Dravid at the nets. When asked about Virat and his chat with him before the Super 4 game, Dravid responded in a stunning way.
Well, ahead of much-awaited India vs Pakistan clash tonight, Rahul Dravid was asked about Kohli’s return to the Indian team and what conversation he had with him at the nets, pointing out that it was a lengthy conversation between the two.
Responding to this with a broad smile, Dravid came up with an epic reply. He said: “Bahut lagega yaar yaha pe. Pehli baat, players and coaches ke beech jo baatein hoti he woh me aake media me toh baat nahi karunga. Haa yeh bhi baat kar rahe the ki khana kaha acha milta hai Dubai me. Unko bahut ache resturants bhi pata he yaha pe. So woh bhi advice kar rahe the. (See, I can’t reveal the conversations between player and coach. But yes, we were also talking about where we can get good food here. He knows a lot of good restuarants here)”
Though, Virat Kohli scored a fifty against Hong Kong, however, questions were raised on his strike-rate coming in at No.3. When asked about the same to the Indian head coach, Dravid jumped to his defense when asked about his form and performance in the last two games so far. He said:
“He’s (Kohli) also coming back after a break, it’s nice to see that he’s come back fresh, looking forward to playing all these games. He got time to spend in the middle. Hopefully he will kick on from here on and have a good tournament,”
Dravid further opined that Virat’s form remains the least concern for the team management and also urged critics to not be obsessed with his numbers. He said: “For us, it’s not really about how many runs he makes. Especially with Virat, people get a little bit obsessed with his statistics and numbers. For us, it’s really not about that,”
He added: “It’s about the contributions he makes at different phases of the game. It doesn’t have to be in 50s or 100s or a stat for us, even a small contribution makes a lot for us in T20s. He’s really keen on putting on good performances,”
