In order to stay dedicated to the game for a longer amount of time and get the respect of the larger cricket community, batting icon Virat Kohli urged the future generation of players to resist the lure of rapid recognition that the IPL offers.
Kohli, who now only competes internationally in the 50-over format, urged aspiring cricket players to discover their inner motivation in order to become true all-format players.
“It’s the drive. A lot of people relate drive to money nowadays. Yes, it’s a big factor because when a format that gives you the hype and the recognition, the fame by scoring 40-50 off 20 balls and the kind of money that people can make in the IPL today, it can put you in a very comfortable space,” PTI quoted Kohli as saying during the third edition of the RCB Innovation Lab’s Indian Sports Summit.
Before calling it a day, Kohli gave the Test format his all and urged the aspiring cricket players to pursue the difficult but extremely rewarding format.
“They can say, you know what, this (T20 cricket) is brilliant. I don’t need to handle pressure for too long. I can just go out there and smash the ball. Or you can say, I want to play for 15-20 years. I want to get recognition and respect of the cricketing world, of my own heroes and I want to fulfill this opportunity.
“That’s a very different zone. You have to be very driven to be able to say, I’m going to commit to this (sport) for the next 10-15 years and it’s going to be very, very hard but I’m up for it,” he added.
Kohli did not, however, minimize the skill sets of contemporary cricket players, particularly their capacity for repeated six-hitting.
“It’s exciting, there are a lot of exciting players who come in and play in a way that I didn’t grow up learning. Honestly, these guys are way more advanced in terms of power hitting and explosive cricket,” he said.
However, the former Indian captain stated that the true test of their abilities will occur during the IPL’s final stretch, when the surfaces get more difficult and require a more analytical batting strategy.
“The reality of the situation is, and that’s what I always tell people, even in the IPL, let’s wait till week 6. Now, they’re going to be games where you’re not going to get the 250s and the 260s and slam bang cricket every ball.
“When you go to chase 175 or 180 on a tricky pitch when you’re 2 or 3 down, how do you do that? “At this stage of the tournament, barring a couple of guys, you will see the strike rates kind of narrowing down into a bracket.”
So how can a batter get through this difficult stage? Kohli disclosed his approach.
“For me, it’s dissecting the game and understanding how to go about a situation. For me, that can only happen with a strong foundation of learning the technical aspects of the game because to switch the game or to switch your batting according to the demands of the situation, you should have the ability to play in seven, eight different ways and not just one way.
“If the pitch is not allowing me to hit boundaries, I should be able to run my team to victory. For that, I have to prepare physically in a certain way. So, it’s choices that you make mentally to kind of unlock your abilities,” he detailed.
