The Birmingham Test might not have been ended in India’s favor but there were quite a few positives for the visitors, especially the bowling of R Ashwin and the batting of Virat Kohli. The Indian skipper was a class apart in the Test from the batsmen of both the teams as he singlehandedly lifted India from the bottom. He even went on to scale the No.1 position in the ICC rankings replacing Steve Smith.
Former Indian skipper Sunil Gavaskar was full of praise for Kohli. The whole of Edgbaston was awestruck with the performance of Virat in testing conditions and against a fiery bowling attack. The legend was no exception to this as he lauded Kohli for being extraordinary when compared to the other batsmen. He further wished to see Team India boosting their morale in the upcoming games.
Gavaskar asserted that even if Kohli took a couple of weeks off, he was still capable of scoring a century the next day. Hence, if he wants to take time off, there shouldn’t be an issue. However, Gavaskar also pointed out that the skipper is an extraordinary performer, he needs to understand others on the team aren’t.
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As quoted in India Today, “Virat Kohli is such an exceptional talent that he can take 15 days off and score 100 the next day. He is an exceptional talent. So if he takes time off, no quarrel with that at all but he needs to understand that he is exceptional but the others are not.”
Gavaskar also showed faith in the Indian team despite them losing in the Birmingham Test. He felt that it was still a long way to go for the series. Also as India is the No.1 ranked Test side in the world, they are bound to make a strong comeback.
The legend elaborated, “I’m very positive still because I believe in this team. Let’s forget what has happened. I believe in this team because I believe that they have the ability. They just need to believe in themselves. The doubts have been created by England after the win in the first Test. So they got to start believing that they can come back and do well.”
