The legendary Australian fast bowler Glenn McGrath has compared the aggressive behavior of the Indian skipper Virat Kohli with former Windies legend Brian Lara. He stated that when it comes to verbal duels Kohli is much like Lara, who used to talk quite a lot on the field.
McGrath was known to be one the most verbal cricketers on the field during his heydays. He used to put off oppositions with his verbal volleys. However, with the guys like Lara and Kohli, he has realized that sledging only makes them more determined.
However, unlike other cricketers, Virat has always been at his peak, especially in the past couple of years. The runs have been consistently flowing from his bat and hence he has never been questioned for his aggressive nature. It is the sort of attitude which tends to get the best out of the Indian skipper. Poking at oppositions at times is the best ploy to get Kohli more determined and score runs.
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McGrath is currently at the MRF Pace Foundation in Chennai guiding young fast bowlers, talking o Sportskeeda, he said, “It just depends on how they are going. Brian Lara was very similar. When he was focussed and in the zone and if you said anything to him, that was it…you could lock in, he would score a double hundred. It was just his day. You knew that was going to happen. So Virat’s probably a little bit similar (to Lara). If he is on form and focussed and scoring runs, I think he loves that banter, that challenge and that aggression there and it gets him going.”
He further added, “But when you are off your game and you are not performing well and you are down on confidence, it can work against you. So little of bit chat here and there… But if you throw a willy-nilly it could work against you (as bowlers). It’s all part of the game, you have to enjoy it and have a bit of fun. Play hard, tough but fair cricket out there.”
The Indian skipper Kohli played a mind-blowing knock of 149 in the opening Test against England at Edgbaston to keep India the match quite single-handedly. Well, it was indeed a special knock from the modern maestro. He was in an immense pressure to score runs after a forgettable tour of England back in 2014.
