Rahul Dravid urges India's U-19 players to match Virat Kohli's consistency
What's the story?
Indian U-19 team's head coach Rahul Dravid has called upon his players to follow Virat Kohli's lead and match the senior team captain's remarkable consistency across all three formats of the game. When asked to draw parallels with his own astonishing run of form in the 2003/04 season, the legendary batsman insisted that the 29-year old run machine is enjoying a much more productive phase than him.
During an interview with India Today, Dravid affirmed, "I think Virat is going through a much better phase than what I was going through in 2003. He has already got six double hundreds so far. It's incredible and phenomenal the way he has been playing. It's the consistency of his performance that stands out for me."
"He (Kohli) is brilliant in all forms. It's not just Test cricket but ODIs and T20s as well. He is playing great cricket. I always tell the under-19 boys that I coach to see the standard that Virat has set and the young cricketers should actually aspire to match the level of his consistency."
In the past...
Between October 2003 and April 2004, Dravid scored three double centuries against as many opponents in Tests. While the 222 against New Zealand in Ahmedabad came in a drawn encounter, his 233 against Australia in Adelaide and 270 against Pakistan in Rawalpindi propelled India to memorable victories.
The heart of the matter
As recently as July 2016, Kohli's highest score in Tests was just 169. However, he has embarked on an incredible run of form to smash as many as six double centuries in a fruitful phase spanning only 17 months. In the history of Test cricket, only five batsmen have more career double tons than Kohli's tally thus far.
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Among Indian batsmen, Kohli is currently tied with the likes of Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag in the all-time list of most double centuries. Dravid amassed five double tons in his stellar career. With his ethereal sequence of knocks in the recently completed series against Sri Lanka, Kohli became the first batsman in the history of Indian cricket to amass 600-plus runs in three different Test series.
What's next?
While Kohli will get some much needed rest before leaving for South Africa at the end of December, Dravid will be busy helping the Indian colts prepare for the 2018 U-19 World Cup which is slated to begin early next year.
Author's take
In the current Indian setup, Kohli is the ideal role-model for the promising U-19 players to look up to. Aside from his impressive consistency across all formats, the senior team captain sets the standard for the youngsters with his exemplary work ethic.