Chaminda Vaas believes Virat Kohli is a different class

Legendary Sri Lankan left-arm seamer Chaminda Vaas, who is currently in India to make an appearance in the local Mitsui Shoji T20 cricket final, representing Ghatkopar Jets against Mumbai Police City Riders at the Police Gymkhana, showered praises on India’s current batting sensation Virat Kohli.

The wily bowler, who has 761 international wickets in his kitty(355 in Tests, 400 in ODIs and 6 in T20Is), seemed awestruck by Kohli’s batting exploits and feared that the Delhi lad would have taken him to cleaners had he bowled to him. Praising Virat Kohli, Vaas said, "If I am going to bowl to Virat, I am sure he will hit me for four sixes or six sixes.

“The way he is batting is tremendous. He is a different class, different person. It's admiring the way he takes the game and tries to dominate bowlers. He is a great asset for India."

Vaas, however, didn’t want to delve much into the comparisons between Virat Kohli and Sachin Tendulkar. The Sri Lankan, who dismissed the Indian batting legend 9 times in ODIs, pointed out, "Very difficult to describe. They are different eras. When Sachin was of Virat's age, he did the same thing.

“He massacred bowlers. He scored 20,000 runs in Tests and ODIs and proved what top class batsman he is. Virat is still coming up. He will do the same thing."

Ishant can be a good Test bowler

The left-arm seamer played for his country for a long time and he revealed the secrets of his longevity, “I used to go cycling with my friends, climb trees, run a lot. I still climb trees when I get time. I have been into fitness since childhood.

“That is how I have been able to survive for so long and play for Northamptonshire injury free for 2-3 years in county cricket.”

According to him, fitness should be the topmost priority for a fast-bowler. He had a word of caution for them also, he said, “You cannot take shortcuts. It’s only 100 per cent fitness that will help you survive and play massive amount of cricket – all formats and how to manage them.

“Play two Tests, rest in one, play three ODIs then take rest, which is what most countries are doing.”

Vaas also spoke about the predicament of Indian fast-bowler Ishant Sharma who did not really become the spearhead of the Indian pace attack despite playing for almost 8 years. The experienced seamer expressed his views on the matter as he said, “When Ishant started out, I thought he would surpass Javagal Srinath.

“The amount of cricket he is playing has put him under enormous pressure. He has to adapt to different versions of the game as the lengths are different. He can be a good Test bowler. He has to improve and must motivate himself to have the right attitude towards the game. One day, he'll be like Srinath.”

Sri Lankan cricket team is currently struggling in international cricket and the Sri Lankan legend attributed the lack of grooming of young players as a reason behind such a predicament.

He pointed out, “There is much more talent in our part of the world than Australia and England because we have a lot of grassroots-level cricket. There, a cricketer develops after he's 18 or 19. But our cricketers start when they're probably 11. It's just that we're not grooming them properly.”