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Former England cricketer Kevin Pietersen lauded Virat Kohli on Day 4 of the ongoing Ashes opener at Edgbaston on Monday, June 19. The 42-year-old called the former Indian captain an exceptional player of spin because of his conventional cricket shots, which makes him stand out.
The opinion came after the legendary England batter learned that Kohli (109* Tests) has only been stumped once in his Test career so far.
Kohli was stumped for the first time in his Test career during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy when Alex Carey dismissed him off Todd Murphy’s bowling earlier this year.
Speaking to Sky Sports, Kevin Pietersen said:
“He [Virat Kohli] is a wonderful player of spin, and you sort of understand it because they play spin off the back foot and have such beautiful wrists. You hardly ever see Virat running down, charging, and going all guns blazing, and he certainly doesn’t sweep, reverse sweep. I mean, you can watch him bat. Mentally, you can see him batting there, so you can sort of understand that.”
Pietersen's comments came after former England captain Joe Root (130 Tests) was stumped for the first time in his Test career by Alex Carey off Nathan Lyon on Day 4 after facing 6903 deliveries in Tests.
“Stay in the crease and hit it out of the park” – Kumar Sangakkara on Virat Kohli’s technique
Kumar Sangakkara, meanwhile, hailed Virat Kohli for playing risk-free cricket. The Sri Lankan legend credited the Delhi-born batter for his ability to stand and deliver, i.e., hit the ball into the stands without leaving the crease. Sangakkara said:
“He [Kohli] is also a kind of IPL mode, isn’t it? A lot of these players are very happy step-hitting from the crease. So, they don’t allow bowlers to bowl on a length, so the old art of having to use your feet against spin is gone, or they don’t do it anymore. You drop down and work a single. No, just stay in the crease and hit it out of the park. That’s true.”
Virat Kohli failed to deliver for Team India during the ICC World Test Championship final against Australia, scoring 14 and 49, respectively. Rohit Sharma and Co. lost the game by 209 runs.
The 34-year-old will next be seen in action during India’s tour of the West Indies next month.
