Sir Viv Richards heaps praise on Virat Kohli, talks about the Indian Test skipper's passion for the game
West Indies batting legend, Sir Vivian Richards, spoke about Virat Kohli's “enormous passion for doing well” in cricket and he believes that self-confidence is the thing that one needs the most at International level.
The Indian Test cricket team skipper had earlier said that he had received “words of gold” from the Caribbean superstar before the start of the recently concluded Test series in the West Indies. This certainly boosted Virat's game as he went on to score his first double-century in the first Test match.
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Speaking to Cricbuzz, the swashbuckling Windies batsman, who was named one of the five Wisden cricketers of the century in 2002, spoke about Kohli's massive improvement in Test cricket. He also added that he was most impressed by the confidence that the 27-year-old exudes.
When asked about his opinion on comparisons between him and Virat, the 64-year-old said, "Virat is Virat. Sometimes you see certain similarities in attitude of individuals. And he has an attitude that suggests he wants to succeed. He is aggressive and believes in the package that he has. And that to me is the best quality any individual can have, believing in what you do, believing in the players around you.
"Yes, at times he will be tested, and it has happened in the past, like in England (2014) or when he first came here to the West Indies. Back then, he wasn't the player he is today, and he has shown vast improvement since then."
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Sir Viv believes that confidence is the key to success and added, "So he will have bad times but as long as he has the belief, nothing can stop him. And this was the one thing that was most impressive to me as an individual, seeing the confidence that he exudes.
"It is the confidence that you need at this level. To me, he seems to have an enormous passion for doing well in this game."
The stylish Indian right-handed batsman performed well in the 4-match Test series in the Windies as India went on to win the series. He will be hoping to replicate his performance in the upcoming Test series against New Zealand when the Black Caps tour India later this month and the words of Viv Richards should spur him on to break more records.