Virat Kohli’s contributions to Indian cricket are extraordinary. Over the years, his remarkable batting skills and leadership have taken Indian cricket to unparalleled heights.
With an impressive career spanning 113 Test matches, 295 ODIs and 125 T20Is, Virat Kohli has so far amassed over 26,000 international runs with the help of 80 hundreds. As captain, he led Team India in 213 matches across all three formats of the game, securing 135 wins.
Manan Vohra shares his insights on playing alongside Virat Kohli
His impressive win ratio cements his place among the best captains in the history of the game. Apart from India, the dashing right-hander also took the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) to the next level. Though Virat Kohli could not help RCB win the IPL trophy, he won millions of hearts.
Kohli’s influence goes beyond the field of play. He is known as one of the best players of the modern era and serves as an inspiration to young cricketers around the world. Many of these young talents not only dream of playing against the former Indian captain but also aspire to share the field with him.
For them, the opportunity to play alongside Virat Kohli is a unique learning experience. Watching his work ethic and dedication closely allows young players to learn valuable lessons from him. Manan Vohra, who has played over 50 matches in the IPL, reflected on his experience of sharing the field with Virat Kohli during his time at RCB in the IPL.
Virat Kohli is as intense as Virat Kohli is: Manan Vohra
Manan Vohra compared Kohli’s focused batting approach and aggressive style to legendary Indian batsman Virender Sehwag. He also highlighted how playing alongside Kohli allowed him to dominate the game at the highest level during his stint with RCB in the tournament.
Manan Vohra said in a podcast on Taruwar Kohli’s YouTube channel: “Jitne Viru paaji calm hai utna hi Virat intensity hai. Now, I don’t know much about his mentality but when I played with him in 2017, he was proactive and intense. He had the idea of what the bowler was planning against him in terms of pace and placements on the field.
In the T20 format, it is important that you attack every ball, so he also used to tell me the same thing: ‘Try to attack and hit a boundary, and if a single comes, it’s okay.’ So it’s like you have to be there and match him on frequency to be able to replicate that kind of stuff. Otherwise, a common man can’t do it; he was always looking to dominate the bowlers. He is world number one for a reason.”
Virat advised me to be a little more sensible with my shot selection – Manan Vohra
The Punjab lad recalled a time when he got carried away by the moment and ended up losing his wicket after following Kohli’s instructions. Manan Vohra shared that players are used to starting to feel that they can hit every ball off the ground after Kohli’s command, and he even fell into the trap, but players need to be sensible and choose their shots.
Vohra concluded by saying, “It was a challenge in the beginning on one or two occasions when I was looking to attack, I got a bit confused and got out. Once, we were playing against SRH, and Virat Bhai came and told me to hit the next ball for a six after Sandeep Sharma’s delivery.
“I tried a shot that wasn’t my strong suit and I walked out. Then, after the game, he came to me and said that I didn’t mean to not read the shot and he advised me to be a little more sensible with my shot selection.”
