Indian team captain Rohit Sharma praised teammate Virat Kohli’s fitness level, pointing out that he had never been to the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru. He also urged the younger generation to learn from Kohli’s passion.
Rohit and Kohli have been the backbone of India’s batsmen for the past decade. With the latter as captain, India recorded many famous victories across the world. Later, Mr. Rohit took over the leadership and is doing a good job as well. Both big names in Indian cricket share a great camaraderie.
In a recent interaction, Rohit was full of praise for cricketer Kohli and the person he is.
“I was very lucky to see Virat up close recently. We keep talking about him as a batsman, but people don’t know what he does off the field. Hmm. His passion for the game, he’s always hungry to come and play, to play for the team. That’s the most important thing. Unless there’s a personal reason, otherwise. …,” the Indian captain told Dinesh Karthik in a chat on Geo Cinema.
Rohit praised the 35-year-old for maintaining incredible fitness levels and added:
“One thing you have to look at is he’s never been to NCA. You know what that is…
“I think every young player should look up to the passion he has. Putting aside how he plays cover drives, flicks and cuts, I think that’s what got him to where he is today in the first place. We need to understand what is the quality of the players we have,” the 36-year-old further commented. .
Kohli is the only batsman in international cricket to boast 50 ODI tons. He achieved this record in the World Cup semi-final, at home against New Zealand.
‘You can’t teach the mindset of starvation’ – Rohit on Kohli’s passion
The Indian captain went on to praise Kohli, commenting that while his hunger and passion for the game is admirable, it cannot be taught.
The 36-year-old advised the younger generation to imbibe the qualities that made Kohli a great cricketer.
“I have seen Kohli enough. He can easily be satisfied with what he has achieved. He can say, take it easy for these couple of series, I will come later. But he’s always there for the team. That mindset. “You can’t teach being hungry and not being complacent. You have to learn it by watching others. It has to come from within. I can’t tell you that,” Rohit said.
“Rather than looking at Virat Kohli or any other player technically, the first thing I want to say is this: Always stay hungry, do everything with passion and pride, go out there and do everything under the sun. “You have to play for the team.” “Get the job done. That’s the first thing I want my players to have,” the Indian captain concluded.
Kohli withdrew citing personal reasons and is not in India’s Test squad for the first two matches against England.
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