"Truly been a leader on and off the field despite the noise" - Rahul Dravid hails Virat Kohli ahead of 2nd India vs South Africa Test
Rahul Dravid has lauded Indian red-ball captain Virat Kohli ahead of the third Test against South Africa, which begins on Monday.
The head coach said Kohli has 'truly been a leader' who has made his job of dealing with controversies and outside noise easier. Crediting him for connecting with the team on and off the field and creating a 'good space' to keep the morale high in the dressing room. Dravid said:
"I know there's been a lot of noise; there was a lot of noise on other issues outside the group even leading into this particular Test. But honestly, in terms of keeping the morale high, it has not been very difficult because it has been led by the skipper himself."
"Virat has truly been a leader, and I couldn't speak highly about the way ... he has connected with the group in the last two weeks, on and off the field. I felt we were in a really good space leading into the first Tes,t and a lot of that was led by Virat, and his leadership really came to the fore. It's not been hard; it's been a pleasure to work with someone like Virat; he's been a phenomenal leader."
On Kohli's form, Dravid believes that a 'big run of scores' is imminent. Commending him for his relaxed approach and calmness in preparation, the head coach said:
"And personally, I feel he's in a really good space and even though he batted well and couldn't convert those starts, I really feel there's going to be a big run of scores coming in from someone like him. Just observing him around the group, how relaxed and calm he has been, how he's preparing and how he's switched on he is."
"It might not happen in the next game; I really hope it happens, but I do feel, with someone like him, we are going to see a really big run of scores once that clicks in place. He has been a credit to himself and Indian cricket over the last two weeks despite all the noise there has been around him."
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Kohli has been the eye of a storm after the BCCI's sudden but not unexpected captaincy shift to Rohit Sharma in white-ball formats. Kohli's inability to break a century drought of two years and getting out in similar ways has compounded his misery.
"We have been conscious of that fact" - Rahul Dravid on India's record following a Test win
Dravid is aware of India's poor record immediately following a Test win overseas. However, he said the players are aware of the same, and ready to change it in the second Test at the Wanderers.
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He said in this regard:
"Yeah, we have been conscious of that fact. In fact, a lot of boys have mentioned it to me... that in the past, they have gone up and won a Test match and probably haven't responded as well as we would have liked in the next one."
"It's really been interesting for me to listen on some of the conversations in the dressing room, just after winning the game and just the kind of focus (they had). It's quite heartening as a coach because you know that you are not having to push or drive them too much."
The second Test starts on Wednesday (1:30 PM IST) in Johannesburg, where Kohli and co. will hope to seal a first-ever Test series win on South African soil.