Four centuries in his last nine innings after entering IPL 2016 without a single T20 century has earned him the accolades that are reserved to only the best in business.
The phenomenal rate at which Virat Kohli has been scoring centuries this IPL, he has only been taking batting to greater heights with every visit to the crease. So much so that a cricket follower in Singapore has called Kohli the 'Don Bradman of IPL'.
Four centuries in his last nine innings after entering IPL 2016 without a single T20 century has earned him the accolades that are reserved to only the best in business.
One former India player is certainly enamoured by Kohli's tremendous success not only in this IPL but also in international cricket. Sunil Joshi, former left-arm spinner, was Kohli's teammate at Royal Challengers Bangalore in the first edition in 2008. The 45-year-old Joshi has seen Kohli from close quarters at RCB as a chubby faced boy with the youthful axuberance. Joshi has also bumped into him regularly as his role as a coach takes him places, most recently to Asia Cup and ICC World T20 qualifiers with Oman national team.
Once an RCB player, always an RCB supporter, Joshi said of Kohli: "In the first two-three years of my interaction with Virat during IPL nets, he was very clear in his mind that he wanted to be the best. Initially, he had the quality but was inconsistent. When he came back for the 2009 IPL, there was a big jump in his game. He had gone back to work hard on his skills. Once you focus on skills, you will automatically become consistent," Joshi, who is a coach of the Zonal Cricket Academy (south), told dna here on Thursday.
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Joshi was part of the Karnataka team against whom Kohli scored that famous 90 the day after he lost his father in December 2006. "To be able to come back after losing his dad and score 90 the next day showed how much desperate he was to play for the country," Joshi recalled.
Kohli has been an example of prime fitness. Joshi has seen that change on Kohli first hand. "He has brought a new dimension to fitness and at the same time, stressed on skill. As a youth icon, he took the aura of all the seniors in the team, right from Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman, Virender Sehwag, to become the new icon of Indian cricket and even world cricket," Joshi said.
Joshi has seen Kohli's transformation from a young arrogant cricketer to a matured Test captain.
"With patience, he has mellowed a lot. From someone who was vocal in his younger days, Virat has controlled aggression. He has become a complete player," Joshi, who played 15 Tests and 69 ODIs from 1996 to 2001, said.
"Virat gives a lot of time to his practice and fitness sessions. How badly is one determined to work hard? Until... That until is infinity for Virat," Joshi, who has shared the dressing room with Sachin Tendulkar, said.
Without drawing parallels between Tendulkar and Kohli, Joshi said: "Sachin's determination was something extraordinary. Virat has gone one level ahead. Virat adores Sachin a lot and will leave no stone unturned to achieve or even better what the maestro has done."
Joshi was confident of Kohli's RCB not only making it to the playoffs but also winning the IPL. That would provide immense satisfaction for Joshi too. Once an RCB player, always an RCB.
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