Sachin Tendulkar (left) and Virat Kohli (AFP/BCCI)
Virat Kohli received a piece of key advice from ex-India coach Greg Chappell, who also offered the same advice to Sachin Tendulkar when he was at the helm
Virat Kohli and Sachin Tendulkar are two of the most legendary figures in Indian cricket history. The two have immense respect for each other, and often they get compared to one another, more so as Kohli nears in on Sachin’s tally of 49 ODI tons. Former Indian coach Greg Chappell during a recent interview revealed an unheard conversation he had with Sachin when he was at the helm of the Indian team. Chapell gave Virat the similar advice that he offered to Tendulkar, saying that Kohli is at the same stage of his career, as Sachin was all those years ago.
Speaking on Backstage with Boria, Chappell recalled how he once had a chat with Sachin on why batting gets difficult for a player as they progress into the latter stages of their careers. The former Australian cricketer was India’s head coach from 2005 to 2007.
“He is a champion player and the big matches will be the ones he will be aiming for. He wants to perform well in every tournament he plays. It was interesting…soon after I started coaching for India, I was in my room in the hotel when the phone rang and it was Sachin,” revealed Chappell.
He continued, “He asked whether he can come and talk to me. He then came down and the question he asked was, ‘Why does batting get more difficult? It should surely get easier’. I said, ‘Not really.'”
“When you are younger and you are playing the game, you see the ball and hit the ball. You only think about scoring runs then and not anything else. As one gets older, the oppositions tends to know more about the player and then they know how to bowl better and what fields to set,” the legendary Australian recalled.
Chappell also revealed how Virat needs to keep things simple and be in the right mindset to give his best for India at the upcoming World Cup.
“I have no doubt that Virat is in that stage of his career and hence it requires a special effort to score runs. And for that you need to decompress yourself and just keep it simple,” he added.
Kohli is currently on a break and will be seen in action against Pakistan in the Asia Cup 2023, which will be the first game for India in the continental tournament.