Former India all-rounder Yuvraj Singh lauded current captain Virat Kohli and spoke how the right-hander from Delhi had become a legend by the time he was 30 and also highlighted how he saw Kohli grow as a cricketer.
Kohli made his India debut in 2008 right after winning the U19 World Cup in Malaysia in the same year. He made his Test debut in 2011, and was part of India’s World Cup-winning team as well, along with the likes of Sachin Tendulkar and Yuvraj Singh himself.
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"Huge difference (since 2011). Virat showed some great promise when he came on board. The moment he got the opportunities, he grabbed them. That's how he took a spot in the World Cup (squad), because he was very young at that time. And it was between him and Rohit. At that time, Virat was scoring runs. That's the reason, Virat got the spot. And compared to now, there is a complete change in him," Yuvraj said to TimesofIndia.com about Virat's transformation since the 2011 World Cup.
Kohli, who has 12169 ODI runs under his belt, is the second Indian on the all-time most ODI runs tally, after Sachin Tendulkar (18426 runs) and the sixth overall. He has earned the moniker of ‘chase master' and has 43 ODI centuries and is sitting just behind Tendulkar who has a record 49 ODI tons under his belt.
Talking about Virat Kohli’s training from a young age and his growth, Yuvraj said, “I have seen him grow and train in front of me. He was probably the hardest worker, very disciplined with his diet, very disciplined with his training. When he was scoring runs, you could see that he is somebody who wants to be the best player in the world. He had that kind of attitude. He has got that swag.”
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Yuvraj further said that people become legends after they retire, but Kohli already became a legend at the age of 30.
"He was scoring a lot of runs and then he became captain. Sometimes you get bogged down, but when he became captain, his consistency became even better. At almost 30, he had achieved a lot of things. People become legends when they retire. At 30, he (Virat) already became a legend. It was really great to watch him grow as a cricketer. Hope he finishes on a high. Because he has got a lot of time," the former India all-rounder said.
(Times of India inputs)
