I watch Virat Kohli’s videos to improve my batting, says Manjot Kalra

03/26/2019

Manjot Kalra has stated that Virat Kohli is his inspiration and he even watches Kohli’s batting videos to learn and improve his skills. The Delhi batsman has also opened up about his experience of sharing the dressing room with the stars of the game and also getting coached from the legends.

Manjot Kalra had become the talk of the town after he smashed an unbeaten century to take India home in the U-19 ICC Cricket World Cup finals at Mount Maunganui in New Zealand. The Delhi lad had scored 252 runs in five innings at a staggering average of over 84 and ended up with a hundred and a fifty. Like the majority of the cricket aspirants in the country, the youngster also draws his inspiration from the number one ranked ODI batsman and India captain Virat Kohli who has also won an U-19 World Cup in his younger days.

“I still watch Virat Kohli’s videos to improve my batting. He is an inspiration. I know I am a left-hander but I get to learn a lot from a legend like him (Kohli),” the youngster said

Delhi Capitals took note of his performance and snapped him up at the auctions for his base price of Rs.20 lakhs. Although his counterparts such as Shubman Gill and Prithvi Shaw have gone on to debut for India, the youngster is yet to make his debut for his Indian Premier League franchise, which has many star batsmen like Shikhar Dhawan, Colin Ingram, Rishabh Pant, Shreyas Iyer, Hanuma Vihari and even Shaw in its ranks.

Kalra, himself being a southpaw, will get to learn a lot from the likes of India opener Dhawan. “I am really excited to share the dressing room with (Shikhar) Dhawan. I have grown up watching him play. I am looking forward to take batting tips from him. I will be playing for the first time with him. I am really excited,” said the 20-year-old.

“Not just Dhawan, I am really excited to play with Rishabh Pant, Shreyas Iyer, Prithvi Shaw and other players,” he added.

The batsman was very upbeat and confident that the revamped side, which has never appeared in the finals in the last 11 seasons, will emerge victorious this time.

“We have star players. Our batting is as strong as our bowling. We have a balanced side. I am sure we will win the title this time," he expressed.

The Shreyas Iyer-led side had appointed Ricky Ponting as their coach last year, and have also hired Sourav Ganguly as their mentor this season. Both of them are former captains of their countries and have tasted great success at the international level which Kalra thinks will be a great help for the team.

“They (Ponting & Ganguly) are legends of the game. I am looking forward to picking up some batting tips from them,” said Kalra.