There are many similarities between Sachin and Kohli, says Ravi Shastri

01/18/2019

Ravi Shastri has said that former Indian batsman Sachin Tendulkar and current Indian skipper Virat Kohli have many things in common and cited similar work ethics as the first example. Shastri also went on to compare Kohli to Vivian Richards and declared Kohli as a role model for youngsters.

Indian skipper Virat Kohli had an awe-inspiring average of 133 in the year went by. He even scored a century in the second ODI of the three-match ODI series between India and Australia recently. Such a sublime form has time and again brought to the fore an inevitable comparison between the current Indian skipper Kohli and former Indian batting legend Sachin Tendulkar. On that comparison, Shastri has accepted that there are many similarities between the two.

"Yesterday someone asked me if there are any similarities between Sachin and Virat. I said there were plenty. Let's start with work ethic. It is doing the hard yards, looking ugly in the nets and sacrificing important things for your cricket. It is staying in the zone. No excuses. No pointing fingers at others. If you make a mistake, then own up. They do that," Shastri told former England captain Michael Vaughan for The Daily Telegraph.

Further, the Indian head coach also went on to describe Virat Kohli as one of the players who are really close to West Indian legend Sir Vivian Richards in terms of talent and attitude. Shastri added that Kohli is also a role model to the Indian youngsters as the latter emphasises on his love for the longest format of the game.

"Virat can be in your face. He is the closest a player has come to Vivian Richards in the way he bats. That 'in your face' approach with fast bowlers and any opponent. He is also prepared to do hard work and be ugly. That is part of his batting he learned in England. He is very caring with his team-mates and just a fantastic role model. He has achieved greatness but to still be in the zone and being humble and hungry and wanting Test cricket makes my admiration for him grow more and more," he said.

India recently have been on a winning spree and the losses are coming rarely and few but it was not the case when the Indian team had toured England last year. There the Indian team lost the ODI series 2-1 and then the Test series 4-1 with the T20I series as the consolation. Ravi Shastri was criticized heavily for the loss. But, not the one to take criticism, Shastri hit out at his critics then saying that this Indian team has been the best in last few years for which once again the Indian head coach was criticized from various quarters.

"You expect it. I am one of those that if it is constructive, then fine. If I find it is agenda-driven, I don't care who the individual is, then I will throw a punch back straight away. I mean it. I don't care if he is a legend or a normal person. If I feel I have to punch back I will”

Shastri once again had to face some ire of the fans and critics when India had lost the second Test match of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy recently. Former Indian captain Sunil Gavaskar had questioned the team combination and training methods after India’s loss in the Perth Test. Shastri once again replied stating the comments were akin to “firing blanks” sitting a million miles away.

There are many similarities between Sachin and Kohli, says Ravi Shastri

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