New Zealand opener Finn Allen said that he became a huge fan of Virat Kohli for the way he came out of his rough patch and has been ruling the world of cricket for the past few months.
Allen, who is currently playing in the T20I series against India at home, further said that he admires Kohli for the way the dashing batter has gone about and finished as the highest run-getter in the T20 World Cup 2022 in Australia with 296 runs at an average of over 98.
However, the New Zealand opener said that Kohli is someone who every aspiring cricketer wants to emulate, but he would really like to be India’s, Suryakumar Yadav. The 23-year-old revealed that he strives to be like Suryakumar, whose 360-degree batting is just out of this world.
Finn Allen was quoted as saying by Hindustan Times: “In terms of guys that I admire, obviously the way Virat has gone about. He had a little bit of a tough time of late, and then to come out the way he has in the last few months and persevered through those challenges is very admirable. Just seeing him overcome that and finish the World Cup as the top run scorer for his country.”
The youngster continued, “I really love watching Surya play. He is the No. 1 batter in the world at the moment and for good measure, I think. He is incredible. Some of the shots he plays are out of this world and he is someone I would strive to be like for sure.”
Meanwhile, Allen revealed that he idolized former England cricketer Kevin Pietersen while growing up and wants to play a similar brand of cricket going forward.
He added, “I guess the role, where it came from was, I have always idolized Kevin Pietersen growing up and watching him play his brand of cricket. Sort of wanting to take the game on and be really positive came a bit from him.”
“This is not me giving up”- Nicholas Pooran says after quitting as West Indies white-ball captain
Praising India’s squad that traveled to New Zealand for the limited-overs series, Allen noted: “They are missing a few players and they still seem to come out with a lot of depth and some seriously quality players. It is a slightly different look to what we saw in the World Cup. But their bowling strength is top.”
He signed off by saying, “They have got three guys in this series who can swing it both ways which is always pretty tough for any batter to combat. The way Arshdeep set the World Cup alight was pretty cool to watch not having to play against. So, we are certainly looking forward to that challenge. And then obviously their batting strength. They’ve got X-Factor after X-Factor in their order. They are a pretty exciting side.”
(Hindustan Times inputs)
