"Kohli has set the bar so high that people now want him to just score hundreds" - Rashid Khan praises Indian batter ahead of Asia Cup 2022
Virat Kohli and Rashid Khan met on the sidelines of the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Wednesday (August 24) ahead of the Asia Cup 2022, which gets underway on August 27.
They spoke for a brief period and their mutual respect for each other was clearly visible from the footage that surfaced on the internet.
Rashid has always held Kohli in high regard and has often praised the latter's batting exploits. Despite the talismanic run-scorer going through a lean patch with the bat, the Afghan spinner believes that Kohli is not out of form.
When asked about Kohli's batting form in an interview with Sawera Pasha on YouTube, Rashid stated:
"The kind of shots that he plays, you don't think he's out of form at all. As per me, he is not out of form. The issue is that there are a lot of expectations from him as people expect him to score a century in every alternate match.
"Even when we look at his Test knocks, he did all the hard work and survived during tough periods and has then gotten out in 50s or 60s. If it was any other batter, everyone would have said that he was in good form. Kohli has set the bar so high that people now want him to just score hundreds."
Kohli will hope to have a good outing in the Asia Cup ahead of the ICC T20 World Cup, which is scheduled to take place in Australia later this year. The former Indian skipper has featured in only four T20I matches this year, scoring 81 runs, including a half-century.
"He wasn't too bothered by what people were saying" - Rashid Khan feels Virat Kohli is not affected by outside noise
Rashid, who has played a lot of matches against Kohli, also spoke highly of the latter's work ethic. The leg-spinner was taken aback by the amount of time the Indian batter has spent on his game. He elaborated:
"I spoke to him during the IPL and... he wasn't too bothered by what people were saying. He works very hard, and we are motivated to do the same by looking at him.
"I saw him bat in the nets the night before our match against RCB, and I kept track of the time he spent in the nets. To be honest, he batted for around two and a half hours. I was astonished to see that, as we had winded up our whole practice session and he was still there."
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India will begin their Asia Cup 2022 campaign against arch-rivals Pakistan on Sunday, August 28, at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium.
Also Read: Virat Kohli spotted in Doha hotel ahead of Asia Cup 2022