Sachin Tendulkar has thrown his weight behind star batsman Virat Kohli, calling him a ‘special talent’ and lauding his shots in an exclusive interview given to Gulf News. Tendulkar was in Dubai last week to attend the launch of AsterOnline, where in an interview, the little master touched upon a number of raging issues in Cricket including Day and Night Tests, batting friendly pitches and the Indian Premier League among others.
The little master, arguably the best exponent of the straight drive, hailed Kohli’s straight bat technique while also praising the way in which the Indian star has accumulated runs in recent times, with proper cricketing shots. Tendulkar said, “Virat presents the straight bat and scores with good cricketing shots.“
Virat Kohli has been in a sensational run of form in the last couple of years. In the 2016 IPL, Kohli has notched up a record-breaking four centuries and is threatening to breach the 1000 run mark this season. The Indian Test captain was also the chief architect of India’s wins in the bilateral T20 series against Australia and Sri Lanka and helped India lift the Asia Cup. His rich vein of form continued in the T20 World Cup held in India, but India failed to go past the semis. The batsman’s current batting form has evoked comparisons with Sachin Tendulkar.
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The master batsman, who notched up 100 centuries in International Cricket, appreciated the Delhi batsman’s work ethic. “He is a special talent and he works hard on his game. His discipline and commitment has to be emulated,” Sachin added.
What has led some fans and experts to compare Kohli with the master blaster is the consistency that the 27-year-old has achieved in all the three formats, without tweaking his technique. Even Sachin acknowledged this special ability of Virat. “He visualises different formats without ever compromising on his technique. In addition, he is very strong mentally and thrives in pressure situations.”
Talking about the Indian Premier League, the Mumbai Indians mentor expressed his delight on seeing the competition that the tournament is throwing up. “The level of competition in the IPL has been steadily growing. We have had last couple of seasons, where the last match of the pool has decided the final standings and the teams for the knockout phase. It is great for the tournament as the interest level is maintained throughout,” he opined.
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