“I will call him Professor Virat Kohli” - S Sreesanth hails Team India batter for 2023 World Cup heroics

India Cricket WCup — Virat Kohli during his knock of 95 against New Zealand. (Pic: AP)

Former India cricketer S Sreesanth has termed Virat Kohli as a “professor” while analyzing his excellent batting performances in the ongoing 2023 World Cup. Sreesanth stated that Kohli’s planning in chases has been near perfect and also hailed his leadership quality.

Kohli is currently the second-leading run-getter in the 2023 World Cup. In five innings, he has smashed 354 runs at an average of 118 and a strike rate of 90.54. Apart from a hundred against Bangladesh, he has registered scores of 85, 55*, and 95 against Australia, Afghanistan, and New Zealand, respectively. The 34-year-old’s only failure came against Pakistan when he was dismissed for 16.

Speaking to Sportskeeda, Sreesanth praised Kohli for being selfless against the Kiwis and looking to finish the match with a six despite approaching his hundred.

“Virat means victory. No praise is too high for him. He completely deserved that hundred, but he was selfless. There were so many balls left, but he wanted to hit a six and finish the game. Unfortunately, he couldn’t finish with a hundred, but the way he is batting in this World Cup, he is not looking in any hurry,” Sreesanth said.

The 40-year-old added that Kohli has been playing deliveries on merit in the 2023 World Cup, giving respect where due, which is one of the key reasons behind his consistency.

“He is the chase master for sure, but the way he is planning in every game, I will call him Professor Virat Kohli. We refer to Suryakumar as mathematician in T20Is because of the way he calculates while batting. Similarly, Kohli should be referred to as Professor Virat Kohli. His leadership quality level is of a different level. He played every ball on merit, giving respect to it when needed. He has played some brilliant shots,” Sreesanth commented.

Kohli struck eight fours and two sixes in his knock against New Zealand as the Men in Blue chased 274 to register their first win over the Kiwis in any ICC event since 2003.

“Give me the ball after some time” - Sreesanth’s cheeky response on how he would have bowled to Kohli

Sreesanth, who is doing commentary for the 2023 World Cup, was asked how he would bowl to Kohli given his current red-hot form. He cheekily replied:

“In the commentary box, I was asked - if I was bowling to him, what delivery would I bowl. I replied that I would have told the captain, ‘give me the ball after some time’. Watching him bat even as an opposition player… lots of respect to Virat.”