Rahul Dravid feels Virat Kohli has set his sights on becoming a great Test batsman
When you have one glance on Virat Kohli’s record as a batsman in all forms of the sport, his Test average of 44.02 is significantly lower than his limited-overs statistics. Armed with an unbelievable average of 58.60 in T20Is, it is only a matter of time before the star batsman takes his Test game to another level.
According to Rahul Dravid, it could happen anytime soon. NDTV Sports reported the veteran batsman speaking about Kohli’s consistency and his desire to improve upon his performances in cricket’s premier format.
Dravid revealed, “Virat and I had lot of conversations. He wants to be a great Test player and knows that a player is respected more if he can perform in formats. The younger generation should learn from guys like Virat, Kane Williamson, Steven Smith, Joe Root who have been successful in all formats.”
Admittedly, the Delhi dasher has played most of his Tests abroad in difficult conditions and also openly advocated the preference for raging turners in Indian soil. However, Kohli has set the bar too high and naturally the expectations will only keep on increasing.
Dravid who has been contacted for the role of Head Coach by the BCCI, added, "Every time I see him perform well, I think he can't raise the bar higher. But, he does it. Every time he plays a good innings, he does better in the next innings.”
Nicknamed the ‘Wall’ of Indian cricket, Rahul was one of the greatest batsmen to ever grace the game with 13,288 runs at a healthy average of 52.31 from 164 Tests. But, the 43-year old sounded worried about the future of Test cricket.
Regarding the growing influence of T20 cricket on young minds, he observed, “I hate to say T20 is the future of cricket. But it's a significant part of the future. ODI cricket started to subsidize Test, and now T20 should do that too.”
Hopefully, that does not turn out to be the case as there is a massive history behind cricket’s traditional format and cricketers are judged more by their efforts in whites. But, the positive attitude of modern-day cricketers such as Virat Kohli proves that the fire is still burning bright and Test cricket will continue to captivate hearts of sport lovers.