"He still has the hunger to be the best in the world" - Gautam Gambhir on Virat Kohli ahead of IND vs BAN 2024 Test series
Gautam Gambhir has pointed out that Virat Kohli's biggest positive is he still desires to be the best in the world. The Indian head coach believes that limited recent red-ball cricket won't adversely impact the modern batting great in the Test series against Bangladesh.
India will face the Bangla Tigers in a two-match Test series, with the first game starting in Chennai on Thursday, September 19. Kohli is making a comeback in the longest format after missing the home Test series against England earlier this year
During an interaction on JioCinema, Gambhir was asked about Kohli heading into the Bangladesh series after having played only a solitary Test this year and none in India for a long time.
"The most important thing which I saw in him is that he still has the hunger to be the best in the world, and the way he trains, whether it be in the nets or the gym as well. He trains like how a professional athlete or one of the best in the world should train, and that is what is important," he responded.
The former India opener praised Kohli's preparations for the Bangladesh series.
"For me, from Virat's point of view, that hunger needs to be there, and I can see that hunger when we look forward to the next 10 Test matches. But more importantly, the way he has prepared himself for the Bangladesh series, I think it's very, very important. Once he gets into that frame of mind, once he gets into that groove, we know what he can do, what he has done for so many years," Gambhir added.
Virat Kohli has amassed 437 runs at an average of 54.62 in six Tests against Bangladesh. He has scored two centuries against them, including a 204-run knock in the 2017 Hyderabad Test.
"What better for him than having the Australia tour coming up because I am sure he loves playing in Australia" - Gautam Gambhir on Virat Kohli
In the same interaction, Gautam Gambhir noted that Virat Kohli would be looking forward to India's tour of Australia later this year.
"Obviously, what better for him than having the Australia tour coming up because I am sure he loves playing in Australia. That's for most of the guys as well. They want to try and still be the best, whether it's Virat Kohli, (Ravichandran) Ashwin or (Ravindra) Jadeja. They still have that hunger, which is a great thing," he said.
The 2007 T20 and 2011 ODI World Cup winner added that players like Kohli and Ravichandran Ashwin are role models for youngsters for the drive they have despite their long careers.
"Someone like Virat playing 100 Test matches or Ashwin playing more than 100 Test matches, still want to be the best, still want to improve every day, and that is why I keep saying that Indian cricket has been very fortunate that they have got guys like these in the dressing room, and they are great role models for the next generation. When you wake up in the morning, you want to be the best every day, and that is something a lot of the next generation has to learn from these guys," Gambhir stated.
Kohli has amassed 8848 at an average of 49.15 in 113 Tests. Ashwin, meanwhile, has picked up 516 wickets in 100 Tests while contributing 3309 runs with the bat.