Michael Hussey believes Virat Kohli has matured into an amazing player

Michael Hussey during a BBL match

Former Australian cricketer Michael Hussey, who is currently working as a commentator in this year’s edition of the Indian Premier league (IPL) was very much in action till the last edition. The 41-year-old retired from international cricket in 2013 but played in the IPL until last year.

In a recent interview with the Times of India, the left-handed batsman said that he misses playing in the Indian tournament. He said, “Of course. I love being part of a team and working together for a common goal. You build up many friendships in the dressing room.”

The Western Australian has already worked with the Australian and South African cricket team. When asked about how he manages between coaching assignments, commentary and competitive cricket he said, “lt feels great to be still involved with the game. I am preparing as well as I can for the Caribbean Premier League later in the year.”

Hussey will play in the Caribbean Premier League alongside Shane Watson. In his brief tenure as coach with Australia and South Africa, he worked closely with Steve Smith and AB de Villiers. Hussey shared his experience of working with two of the modern greats.

The Australian said, “I simply love watching them bat. The one difference that I noticed was that Smith loves to bat and bat and bat in the nets in the lead up to a match whereas De Villiers prefers to get his skill preparation done and then makes sure he is physically and mentally fresh for the matches. But then, not too many can bat like the way he does.”

Hussey also talked about talked about the superhuman consistency of star Indian batsman Virat Kohli, “He has evolved into an amazing player. I think these three are all probably at a stage now where they know their game inside and out and they stick to it as it has given them so much success over the years. In fact, I like to listen to them when they talk about cricket.”

Hussey was asked whether he sees himself as a national team head coach in the future to which he replied, “Certainly not in the short term. A national coach is away from home for too much time, which is the main reason I retired from international cricket. I have a young family and I want to spend more time with them.”

In his autobiography Hussey mentioned that VVS Laxman had approached him for the Indian coaching job, when asked about that he said, “It wasn't a formal offer. It was just a question during a conversation on various things. I was not keen to be away from home for long periods, which he understood.”