Chappell wrote about Kohli's turning point in the career, the England tour in 2014.
Former Australia cricketer and India coach Greg Chappell recalled how the modern great Virat Kohli refused to be compared with West Indies great Sir Vivan Richards. It was after he returned from the India tour of England in 2014, where he had performed horribly in Tests.
The England tour in 2014 which shook Kohli did more good than bad for him. Kohli had struggled with the bat against James Anderson on the tour and he returned with just 134 runs in 10 innings. It was then Virat worked hard on his batting with the help of Lalchand Rajput and inputs from Sachin Tendulkar.
Chappell revealed in his column, for Sydney Morning Herald, how Kohli wasn't ready to be compared with the Caribbean legend, Richards.
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"From a cricketing point of view, the turning point for Virat was his disappointing tour of England in 2014. English conditions and bowlers – Anderson in particular – had made batting seem more difficult than solving Fermat’s last theorem.
On his return to India, Kohli turned to (Lalchand) Rajput for help. They spent 14 days together, working on getting into better positions to deal with the best deliveries. Tendulkar also offered some cogent inputs on batting against top bowlers."
He added, “During one of these sessions, Rajput told Kohli that he could be a similar player to Viv Richards. Kohli wasn’t convinced. ‘No sir,’ he said, ‘he is too great for me.’
It is now looking like a prescient statement. Sir Vivian would be proud to have played some of the innings that Kohli has played in the intervening years."
Virat had a good outing on the Australia tour in 2014-15. He ended up scoring 692 runs, the second-most in the four-match series.
"The ensuing tour of Australia was a watershed in which he set his career on a solid footing and won over the demanding crowds. This country holds a special place in his heart because “respect has to be earned; it is not given easily,” Chappell signed off.
(With Sydney Morning Herald Inputs)