Virat Kohli has a bunch of players who are willing to fight for him, suggests Ray Illingworth
Former England captain Ray Illingworth has suggested that Virat Kohli displayed great leadership qualities in his tenure as the Indian captain and the entire squad are willing to fight for their leader. Illingworth also spoke about the form of English opener Alastair Cook in the ongoing Test series.
India fought their way to a well-deserved victory in the third Test at Nottingham and they had their skipper - Virat Kohli to thank for that. Kohli, who was adjudged the man of the match, after he recorded scores of 97 and 103 in the two innings at Trent Bridge as India pulled off a crucial win to come back in the series at 2-1.
And former English captain, Ray Illingworth, was full of praise for the Indian captain as he claimed that Kohli was a true leader in the Indian dugout ever since he took the reins of the Indian team from MS Dhoni. Illingworth also added that the 29-year old had the backing of the entire team and they were willing to fight for their leader.
“He is obviously a great batsman, right up there with the best that I have seen from India. The best thing about his batting is the way he adapts himself to different formats and is successful. And for a captain to succeed, there are two things that are essential – you have to be intuitive and you need to perform.
“I think Kohli is doing both the things well. He has a bunch of players who believe in him and they are ready to fight for him. In addition to that, there’s so much backup from technology and you know how to deal with situations with a support-staff ready to help you out. It definitely makes the job of the captain easier,” Illingworth said in an interview to TOI.
In contrast to Kohli, Alastair Cook has had a pretty drab outing with the English Test team in the ongoing series so far. In the three Test matches against India, Cook has managed scores of 13, 0, 21, 29, 17 only. But Illingworth suggested that the 33-year old needed to get his basics right, especially while facing the Indian spinners.
“I think the bowlers are bowling the right line and length at him. They are making him play a lot more and he is finding it a little difficult to cope with bowlers coming around the wicket and attacking the off-stump. Even playing spin, he can't just plonk his front foot forward and allow the ball to hit his pad because of DRS. So he has to play beside the line and that's sometimes opening him up a bit,” added Illingworth.