'Virat Kohli ek nahin, gyarah hai,' Saqlain used to tell Rashid and Moeen
Saqlain Mushtaq, England's spin bowling coach at the 2019 World Cup, has mentioned that he used to tell the English spinners that Virat Kohli was equivalent to 11 batsmen. The former Pakistan off-spinner also added how he used to give confidence to Adil Rashid and Moeen Ali whenever they used to face the Indian batting great.
Mushtaq spoke extensively on various aspects of the game in a chat with Nikhil Naz on Instagram, including the happiness he felt upon winning the World Cup with England. He also talked about how he used to plot Virat Kohli's dismissal.
On being asked what he had taught Adil Rashid and Moeen Ali since they were pretty successful against Virat Kohli, Mushtaq mentioned that having a clear mind is the most important thing.
"As a bowler or a coach you need to first have a clear mind. You may have a world-class player in front of you, who is ruling the world. He does not have any problem while facing any type of spinner - off-spinner, left-arm spinner or leg spinner."
He added that Virat Kohli is equivalent to 11 batsmen and dismissing him is like getting rid of the whole Indian team.
"I used to tell them that if you dismiss Virat Kohli, you have dismissed the whole Indian team. Ye ek nahin, yeh gyarah hai. He may be a big name, but the pressure is on him and not on you. You need to bowl the best ball to him always. Your mind needs to be clear to do that."
Mushtaq remembered a delivery Adil Rashid had bowled to Virat Kohli in one of the ODIs, which had spun viciously and bowled the Indian captain. The former off-spinner mentioned that he had given the name 'Virat ka ball' to that delivery and that he used to ask Rashid to bowl that delivery to all batsmen at the nets.
"When I used to be in the net sessions, I used to tell them to assume that they are bowling against Virat Kohli. In fact, Adil Rashid had dismissed Virat Kohli in an ODI. The ball had pitched wide outside leg, it drifted, turned and hit the top of off-stump. I had a clip of that ball. I had given a name to that delivery, calling it 'Virat ka ball'. So, whenever he used to bowl at the nets I use to tell him to bowl the 'Virat wali delivery' to whichever batsman was facing him at the net."
Mushtaq explained that naming the delivery after Virat Kohli would set the bowlers' imagination rolling and they would recollect that dismissal easily. He added that the googly was also named after another batsman who had gotten bowled through the gate.
"So once he did that, his imagination used to get clear. Even before that Rashid had dismissed Virat caught at slip, in a series in India. So, I had given name to each and every delivery. Even if he had to bowl a particular delivery, it was named after a batsman. So a wrong-un was named after another batsman who was bowled through the gate. So whenever I wanted him to bowl a googly, I used to tell him to bowl a delivery for that batsman and not explicitly to bowl a googly. So the imagination used to come in front of him."
Mushtaq had given a similar name to one of Moeen Ali's deliveries that had dismissed Virat Kohli.
"Similarly, Moeen Ali had also dismissed Virat Kohli and I had given the delivery name to him as well. I also used to tell them to put the soul into the ball. Virat may be the No. 1 batsman in the world, but put whatever you have into the delivery. Put your mind and all your effort into the delivery, you shouldn't be scared of bowling to him."
Mushtaq elaborated that he used to ask Rashid and Ali to play with Virat Kohli's ego and not consider them any lesser than the Indian batting great.
"Whenever Virat used to come in front of them, I tried to release the pressure from them. Virat has a ego. If you bowl a good delivery or bowl a dot ball to him, his ego will be hurt. If you trap him or dismiss him, he will be very sad that he got dismissed off your bowling. You are of the same standard as Virat, don't consider yourself lesser than him. But the pressure is on him."
He iterated that the critical aspect was the psychological part of the game and added that they used to plot Virat Kohli's dismissal.
"You have to work on the psychological part. On technical front you already know, in which areas Virat Kohli scores his runs, how he starts his innings, how he builds the innings and how he finishes it. We would analyse how he plays and plan accordingly."
Mushtaq spoke highly of the Indian batting line-up and added that playing against them was the most enjoyable experience.
"Playing against India was the most enjoyable because they are the best against spinners. If you have to play against Indian batsmen, you have to come with full preparation and be ready for the long grind. If you need to dismiss an Indian batsman, you need to put your blood and sweat into it. You need to put your heart and brain into it."
Virat Kohli's record against Adil Rashid and Moeen Ali
Virat Kohli and Adil Rashid have played against each other in 5 ODIs, with the Indian captain having scored 60 runs against the latter and having been dismissed on 2 occasions. Rashid has never dismissed the RCB captain in T20Is, and has conceded 40 runs off just 27 deliveries.
The leg-spinner has managed to dismiss Virat Kohli on 4 occasions in Test cricket but has also conceded 289 runs in the process.
Virat Kohli has a similar record against Moeen Ali as well. He has scored 55 runs against the latter in ODIs, and has been dismissed twice. In T20Is, Ali has dismissed the Indian batting mainstay once but has also conceded 21 runs off just 10 deliveries.
In the longer version of the game, Virat Kohli has scored 154 runs off Moeen Ali's bowling, and has been dismissed by the latter on 3 occasions.
Virat Kohli and Moeen Ali would be hoping to help RCB win their maiden IPL title this year.