Former India player Aakash Chopra has praised Virat Kohli for playing well in difficult overseas batting conditions in Tests. He added that Kohli, unlike most batting greats, has better numbers in South Africa than his overall career average as well.
However, Virat Kohli recently announced his Test retirement. While he amassed 9230 runs at an average of 46.85 in 123 Tests, his 891 runs in nine Tests in South Africa came at 49.50 as well.
In a video shared on his YouTube channel ‘Aakash Chopra’, he said, “He said we had to conquer Australia, England and South Africa, as we don’t get respect. Indians question you about what you have done in Australia, England and South Africa. His numbers in South Africa are head and shoulders above the rest. Even if you see the greatest of greats, everyone’s numbers fall in South Africa, but his have gone up.”
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“He has an average of nearly 50 (in South Africa). The toughest conditions to bat, he has gone there and conquered them. He went to Australia and said that he has to hoist his flag and tell everyone who Kohli is. He had one bad year in England, but then he comes back and conquers England as well,” he again shared.
However, Aakash Chopra also lauded Virat Kohli for working on his technical deficiencies and other aspects of his game as well. He said that Kohli had a sublime form in Tests between 2016 and 2019, where he smacked 4208 runs at an average of 66.79 in 43 Tests with 16 centuries as well.
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“It’s not that he was technically very well equipped always or a complete batter. You have to work hard. He used to get the outside edge. So he worked on that. If he faced any other difficulty, he worked on that. He worked on fitness, temperament, and diet,” he said.
“There was a time when he scored 16 centuries in 69 innings. Outstanding, without a shadow of doubt. He has struck seven double centuries. No one has scored more double centuries than him in India’s history. There are players with six and five, but he is the only guy with seven, in which, I think, four came in one season. Seven came between 2016 and 2019. He was absolutely brilliant,” Aakash Chopra concluded.
