Former India batting coach Sanjay Bangar has shared insights on Virat Kohli’s intense preparations to conquer English conditions after a disappointing 2014 tour.
Kohli missed the ODI series against Afghanistan last month due to a hamstring injury sustained in the IPL 2026 final on May 31. Having cleared the fitness test, the star batter is all set to return to action in the upcoming ODI series against England, slated to begin on July 14 at Edgbaston.
Ahead of the series, Bangar revealed that prior to the 2018 England tour, Kohli engaged in grueling, dawn practice sessions in Mumbai, specifically pouring extra water onto uncovered practice pitches to truly test his technique.
This meticulous regimen aimed to simulate the heavy morning moisture, seam movement, and swing conditions typical of the United Kingdom.
"When you go to England, the entire game comes down to two things: how well you counter the swing, and how late you can play the ball. Because Virat Kohli did not have a great run during the 2014 tour, he put in an immense amount of work during 2017-18 to fix that," Bangar said while speaking on The Great Indian Cricket Show on Doordarshan.
"Our routine was brutal; we would hit a Mumbai ground by 6:00 or 6:30 in the morning just to chase the early dew. We wanted to start as early as possible so we could replicate English conditions, utilising the heavy morning atmosphere and the natural moisture on an uncovered pitch," he disclosed.
"If the sun came out and the moisture on the wicket started dropping, we would literally pour extra water onto the surface just to keep the ball snaking around," he added.
Bangar emphasized that overcoming English conditions requires a specific strategy, and Kohli embraced the demanding sessions repeatedly.
"Virat did that gruelling practice repeatedly," he revealed. While Kohli spearheaded this technical grind, Bangar noted that three or four core Indian batters adopted these precise simulations, laying the foundation for India's subsequent Test successes in England.
"Because three or four of our core batsmen managed to fine-tune their batting through those exact simulations, we were highly successful in winning matches over there," he explained.
