Wiese also spoke about Namibia's tough task at the T20 World Cup 2021.
Namibia and former RCB all-rounder David Wiese have opened up about the "biggest quality" of the Indian skipper, Virat Kohli that has impressed him the most, saying the dashing cricketer has never been content and has the hunger to get better each day, despite being already a legend of the game.
Wiese witnessed Kohli in close quarters during his stint with the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in 2015-2016 in the Indian Premier League (IPL). He also lauded his former South Africa and RCB teammate AB de Villiers, saying he is probably the most talented cricketer ever the game has seen.
Notably, the right-hander played for South Africa from 2013 to 2016 before moving to Namibia. He had also represented South Africa in the 2016 T20 World Cup held in India.
Recently, the pacer was named to the Namibia squad for the ICC T20 World Cup 2021, starting on October 17 in the UAE.
Wiese told ANI in an interaction organized by the ICC: “Namibia approached me when I had signed Kolpak deal in 2017. My international career was over and I expected to never play international cricket and I had come to terms with that. Namibia approached me, Albie Morkel and Pierre de Bruyn (head coach) asked me will playing for Namibia be something I'll be interested in?
I never thought I'll ever play international cricket again, so when the opportunity comes around, you would be stupid to not take it. I am thankful to them that they saw value in me.”
He further said of Kohli, “Virat is just obsessive, he wants to be the best and he would not stop until he is the best and that for me, is his biggest quality. He is probably one of the best in the world but he still wants to improve. He is already a legend of the game but that is not good enough for him. He wants to become better, he has got a passion for the game. In training, he would spend hours and hours, working on different things. He has never been content, he is always looking to improve.”
On De Villiers, the all-rounder said: “AB is successful because he is probably the most talented cricketer that ever has been there. He is hard-working, his success does not come by luck. He puts in hours, his fitness is always good. His success is because of all the hard work he does. That is a recipe for success in most sports and that is something Namibia actually has already.”
He continued, “I have spent a short time with them and I see guys putting in the hard yards, they are not shy of putting in the extra effort. Physically and mentally, they are strong. They have the talent and the recipe is there, and it is now about trusting the ability. Definitely, what I can say is that one can learn from the hard work and dedication of AB de Villiers and not leaving any stone unturned.”
Meanwhile, Namibia qualified for their maiden T20 World Cup appearance after defeating Oman in the playoffs of the qualifiers and is placed in Group A of the Qualifying Stages for the upcoming ICC T20 World Cup 2021 alongside Sri Lanka, Netherlands, and Ireland.
The top two teams will qualify for the Super 12 Stages and Wiese admitted it will be difficult for his side to get through.
Read Also: T20 World Cup 2021: Tickets for India vs Pakistan match in Dubai sold out
The Gerhard Erasmus-led Namibia team will start its campaign in the T20 World Cup 2021 against Sri Lanka on October 18 at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium.
Wiese said, “Yeah, we have a tough pool and it will be difficult for us to get through, all other teams we will be playing against have some top-quality international players so we are going to have our work cut out. We have got a lot of talented players out there. Namibia might not have known guys, but they are talented. They have been welcoming towards me. I will be chatting to the guys, I'll be asking a lot of questions and if I can just help out other guys, that will be a job well done.”
He signed off by saying, “I think the reality is that there is a lot of cricket that is being played in the UAE at the moment. Pitches do get tired, the sun beating down on it, the pitches are going to slow down. I have seen that pitches in Sharjah have gotten slower already so we will have to see and assess the situation. I have kind of based my game on slow conditions having played in the sub-continent over the years. Hopefully, my experience can come through.”
(With ANI Inputs)