Afghanistan leg-spinner Rashid Khan has showered rich praise on India captain and one of the batting greats of modern-era Virat Kohli and has opined why the cricketer is rich as a batsman across the world.
Rashid has further pointed out that Kohli never deviates from his process and has great self-belief and faith in his batting abilities that’s why he is successful at the highest level so far. He also said the dashing righter doesn’t play any shots that’s not his strength and gives respect to the good balls.
Rashid said on the Youtube show 'Cricast': “If there is any other batsman, he will come under pressure if you bowl well to him. He will play a shot that is not his strength, like a sweep, a slog sweep, or any other different stroke. [But] Virat will follow his own process.”
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He further added, “He (Virat Kohli) goes with his mind. He has his own style and he goes with that. He doesn't do anything different. I think that is why he is very successful. He has a process. He will respect good balls. He will punish loose balls. He has great self-belief. Some batsmen don't have self-belief. That is why they struggle. He believes in his own strength.”
Meanwhile, the leg-spinner is eager to play under the leadership of legendary MS Dhoni in order to improve as a bowler while recalling advice given by the veteran wicketkeeper-batsman recently.
Rashid further said, “I have a dream to play under MS Dhoni because the experience of playing with him, under him is very important. For a bowler, the role of a wicketkeeper is very important and I don't think there is anyone better than him to explain you things.”
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He continued, “Every time after our matches, the discussions that I had with him have helped me. Last time he told me 'You have to be careful while fielding, you slide, throw the ball when it is not necessary, you get aggressive because there is only one Rashid and people want to see you more. What will happen if you get injured? Keep this in mind, I tell (Ravindra) Jadeja the same thing.'”
Meanwhile, Rashid also hailed India's white-ball vice-captain Rohit Sharma, saying: “I agree he has more time (to play his shots). He has got a lot of time. I have seen very few players who have a lot of time. It is natural for some players to have that.”
He signed off by saying, “The way he pulls even if it is 145 plus or 150 kmph, the way he hits, it seems the ball is 125 or 130 kmph...He doesn't hit too many powerful shots. He believes in his timing.”
(With PTI Inputs)
