Virat Kohli is the “benchmark” in respect to a fit athlete and that is why all West Indies players should work as hard as him to achieve their goals, feels their assistant coach Roddy Estwick. In a media interaction before the ODI series, Roddy said Shimron Hetmyer and Nicholas Pooran must learn from Kohli.

“It’s exciting times for us when you look at guys like Hetmyer, Pooran and Hope. We have got young batsmen who are developing. But the key thing is how you prepare to work hard. You have got a benchmark in Virat Kohli. He is somebody who will be in the gym and work very hard,” he said on Friday.

“A lot of players can learn from him. Then, we have got a chance. Without hard work, there is no success. Hard work is boring but it can give you great success. Once they keep working and dealing with the process, they will have a chance. They have been brilliant on this tour, we can’t fault them. They have worked really hard. They are beginning to see the results. If you look at Hetmyer’s play in the T20s, it was exciting,” he added.

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Roddy Estwick also said the West Indies team had done well in the T20s and will do well in the ODIs too. However, they lost the T20 series 1-2.

“We are happy with the way we performed in the T20s. When these two teams played three T20s in the Caribbean, the gulf between them was wide. We are happy that we have narrowed that gap (in the T20 matches) and hope to do the same in 50 overs,” he added.

He shared his views on the spinners as well, “It’s a learning curve for these young spinners Hayden Walsh Jr, Kharry Pierre and Roston Chase. It’s all about learning and building blocks for the 2023 World Cup. Once you play against the best, it helps you to raise your game and standard. So, it is good that we are playing against a quality side like India.”