Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma made their India debuts within a year of one another and have been through thick and thin together. While Kohli was earmarked for greatness right from the beginning, Rohit was also seen as someone with the silken touch, destined for something big.
They have proven that the prophecies made about them from the start were true as Kohli is regarded as one of the greatest of this era, while Rohit Sharma is considered to be at par as well, thanks to the mountain of record these two own in cricket.
While Rohit saw a resurgence in his career in 2013 when he began opening the innings for India in limited overs and then in 2019 in Tests, Kohli endured a horror period of three years almost where he couldn’t score an international century and in the last one and a half years, couldn’t manage to score the fifties as well.
But that shackle was broken on September 8, when Kohli scored his 71st ton and first T20I century, which came against Afghanistan in the Asia Cup, during which he broke Rohit Sharma’s record, as his 118 was surpassed by 122* of Kohli as the highest individual T20I score by an Indian.
After the match, which India won by 101 runs, Kohli spoke to Rohit in a candid chat sharing what he went through in tough times and the support he received from the team management which got him back in the groove after the six-week break.
“After playing for 12-14 years, I didn’t pick up the bat for almost a month. And when I came back into to the team, the communication from you and management was pretty clear. The team management’s plan was to let me bat. So it kind of eased me down, I was pretty relaxed, and the space team management gave me was very important, especially when I was coming after a break,” Kohli told Rohit in a free-wheeling chat shared by BCCI on their Twitter.
“When I came back, I was excited and eagerly looked forward to making a contribution to the team. I knew that If I played well, it would automatically help the team in the long run,” he added.
A relaxed Kohli admitted how he was trying to do things differently in T20 cricket and how the chat with the team India head coach Rahul Dravid helped him get his mojo back.
“I had a word with Rahul bhai, three-four days ago on how can I improve by strike rate in the middle overs, while batting first. My goal was to improve my game as per the team’s point of view, and that I was trying to do in the Asia Cup,” said Kohli.
Rohit Sharma was all praises for Kohli’s scintillating knock against Afghanistan, which was the first ton in T20Is against the Afghan side.
He said: “Today’s knock was a perfect example of how to craft your innings without focussing much on big hitting it was wonderful to see. I know it personally because I have seen you bat long enough.”
“Six-hitting has never been my biggest strength, I can when situation demands, but I am better at finding gaps and hitting boundaries. I was drifting away from my template because I was bit desperate to do something which is not my game. So, as long as I can hit my boundaries, it will still serve the purpose for the team. I also told the coaches that I am going to try to hit gaps in the field rather than going for the big shots to up my strike rate,” Kohli added.
“My responsibility and role in this team is to play according to the situation but also of the demand of the situation is to take the scoring rate higher I should be able to do that,” he added.
(BCCI inputs)
