“He Is as Good as They Get in World Cricket:” Mike Hesson on Virat Kohli

Published 09/20/2019, 2:11 AM EDT

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Former Australia cricketer Simon Katich and Mike Hesson have praised Virat Kohli for his contribution as a team player and his recent knock. Hesson has been appointed as RCB Director, Cricket Operations whereas Katich has been newly appointed as the head coach of Royal Challenger Bangalore (RCB). In a recent media interaction, they talked widely about RCB’s future plans and winning their maiden IPL title in 2020.

“His (Kohli) records speak for him. I have a huge amount of respect for what he has achieved not only as a player but also as the captain of India,” Katich said. “What I really like about him is the fact that he is super competitive, because that’s exactly what I am like and I love that.”

On Wednesday evening, Kohli played an unbeaten knock of 72 while taking his side to a seven-wicket win over South Africa in the second T20I match in Mohali. With this knock, he also surpassed Rohit Sharma to become the leading run-getter in T20Is. He is currently the only batsman in the world to have an average above 50 in all three formats.

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Katich also remembered the century which Virat Kohli scored at Perth in the third Test of the four-match series in December last year. He said that it was one of the best centuries he has ever seen. However, despite Kohli’s 123 in the first innings, India lost the game by 146 runs.

“I had the pleasure of watching him score a hundred at Perth last year in the Test series at what was like an old WACA wicket. It was one of the best Test hundreds I have seen,” said Katich.

Meanwhile, Mike Hesson also praised Kohli and his leadership skill.

“He is as good as they get in world cricket. Last night, we saw another example of what an amazing player he is. He is a fine leader who leads with real spirit and passion,” he said.

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However, while talking about RCB and its poor show so far since the beginning, Hesson said that they have planned how they would carry forward the things. They are going to bring some changes in the squad as well. Although, they have shared that Virat Kohli will remain the captain of RCB.

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“We have spent a lot of time in the last two weeks looking at how we want to structure things as a support staff. With the structure we have got and people we’ve got around us, we’re well aware that we have to make a few tweaks in the squad to get the balance that we think we need moving forward,” he said.

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However, Royal Challengers have never been short of talented players. While talking about how well they would be used in the league, Katich said that they are working on that part where they are trying to identify the potential of the players. Even they are trying to understand their contributions in being part of the winning side.

However, with the new set-up of Kohli, Katich and Hesson, it is expected that they would do well in the cash-rich league next year.

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Written by:

Shruti Banerjee

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