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Indian skipper Virat Kohli, who has been rested from the ongoing Asia Cup has revealed that former skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni is his inspiration as a captain and that he has learnt a lot from the wicket-keeper batsman.
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“Not really anyone before MS. I was always someone who kept talking to him about the game so even when I was really young, before I was made vice-captain, I would give him my suggestions,” said Kohli, as quoted by India Today.
“I love thinking about the game and that’s why I enjoy captaincy so much and I enjoy chasing totals so much I love using my brain to figure out what needs to be done during the game.
“I’ve learned the most from MS, standing so close to him at slip so many times and just observing him at close quarters,” added the right-hander.
Kohli however was all against the idea of ICC’s proposal of four-day Test matches.
The number one ranked Test batsman said that he didn’t like the idea of the longest format being, “tinkered” with and said that the satisfaction that comes with doing well in Test cricket is immense.
“”I cannot explain to you the job satisfaction that you get when you do well in Test cricket, because you know how demanding it is,” Kohli said.
“It’s the most beautiful format of the game. I don’t think it’s going to go anywhere. I don’t even see it getting compressed to four days, ” said Kolhi, before adding “It (Test cricket) should not be tinkered with.”
What Kohli is in favour of is the ICC Test Championship which would comprise nine teams and would be held over a period of two years. The Indian captain has been in terrific form in red ball cricket, his recent success coming against England where he scored 593 runs over five Tests at an average of 59.30.
“I think that is going to give a huge push to Test cricket. It makes every series more competitive, and there’s going to be ups and downs throughout the Championship, which I really look forward to. The teams that love playing Test cricket are always going to be passionate about it ” the 29-year old opined.
“And it also depends on the system you have back home as well. If you’re not going to give more importance to first-class cricket, then people are going to lose motivation to play the longest format of the game.
“And with the T20 format coming in I think there’s far greater responsibility on all the cricket boards across the world to treat first-class cricket really well, because if the facilities and the standard goes up, then the motivation always stays, ” he added.
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