Ex Pakistan opener Aamer Sohail adds new chapter in Virat Kohli’s career by comparing him with Javed Miandad
Ex Pakistan opener Aamer Sohail adds new chapter in Virat Kohli’s career by comparing him with Javed Miandad
Indian run machine Virat Kohli has often been weighed up with Sachin Tendulkar. His consistency across all formats and run scoring abilities has made the Indian skipper one of the favourites to challenge Sachin’s massive numbers in international cricket.
The 31-year-old’s mastery in chasing down totals and hitting pacers in white ball cricket has made some great players like Ian Chappell compare him with Viv Richards also. Among current players Kholi has always drawn comparisons with Steve Smith. However, on Sunday, former Pakistan opener Aamer Sohail added a new chapter in Kohli’s career by comparing him with Javed Miandad.
Aamer Sohail, who was Pakistan’s one of the best openers, stated that much like Javed Miandad, Virat Kohli’s greatness rub off on his teammates.
“The most important point for me is that big players break out. They are individually great, but their greatness does not help the team at all. When you talk about Pakistan’s cricket history and its greatness, the first name that comes to mind is Javed Miandad.
“His greatness is still talked about to this day because he used to raise the level of play of the rest of the team. When you stitch a long partnership with him, you used to learn so much, and get inspired that you want to improve more. This is what Kohli has done as well. If you look around Kohli, every player has improved alongside him and this is why Kohli gets the tag of a great player,” Sohail said on his YouTube channel.
Javed Mianded, who featured in 124 Tests and 233 ODIs for Pakistan has amassed 8,832 runs at an average of 52.57 in Tests and in ODIs he cumulated 7,381 runs at an average of 41.70.
Virat Kohli on the contrary, has already knocked 70 international centuries and more than 21,000 runs. Kohli has 7,240 runs in Tests, 11,867 in ODIs and 2,021 in T20Is. He averages over 50 across all formats.
The former Pakistan opener also explained the reason behind Virat Kohli’s greatness.
“Let me explain why Virat Kohli has become a great player? When he burst onto the scene, he was flamboyant, aggressive, and liked to team up with life. Very quickly, he realised that I need to separate my professional life with my personal life. That really benefited him.”
“The guidance he received after that you need to do away with certain things to become a consistent player for India - and he did so. He improved his defensive technique. When he got a chance to play for India in 2008, and then when he made a move to T20I in 2010, and then he made his debut in 2011 - during this time he found his game. He realised what were his strengths, and how he needs to take them forward. He also realised what was his weakness, and how can he improve upon it, or camouflage it. He kept improving his game, and he dominated in world cricket.”
Furthermore, former Pakistan cricketer said Kohli’s passion and determination have moulded him into one of the best in the game. “But here are four major reasons I believe why he became a great player. The first point is passion and determination. An average player, when they represent their country, they are happy with the performances as long as they can stay in the team. They are just satisfied with that.
“But great players do not let their passion and determination deteriorate. This cannot be taught, this comes from within when you respect the game, your fans, and the colours that you wear and the country you represent,” he said.
Aamir Sohail underlined that Virat Kohli’s desire to always become better is another reason why he is a great cricketer.
“The second point is to desire to become a better player and be coachable - this is what has been seen in Kohli. In the beginning, he used to hit shots. But then he was told that you have to play like this, so he realised himself and kept on improving. His adaptability has come because of this. In different countries, with different bowling attack, in different situations, he has different trigger movements all the time. He uses his footwork accordingly. He has dominated every bowling line-up in the world,” he added.
“When you play like this, it makes a player ready to accept challenges. This is why Virat Kohli’s mental toughness is increasing,” Sohail further added.