“He’s a sensational player,” says Ross Taylor on Virat Kohli

Ross Taylor on Virat Kohli: The veteran Kiwi batsman threw accolades on the Indian captain ahead of the first ODI.

Given his current form, there is no hiding to the fact that former New Zealand captain and current middle-order batsman Ross Taylor holds the key for his team not just in the imminent series against India but also in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019.

In 210 ODIs for New Zealand, Taylor has scored 7,714 runs at an average of 47.91 and a strike rate of 83.17. Since the start of 2018, standing up to his reputation, Taylor has scored 920 runs in 14 matches at an average of 92 and a strike rate of 92.74, including three centuries.

One of the top ODI batsmen of the last year, Taylor is high on current form after finishing the highest run-scorer in the series against Sri Lanka. In three ODIs, Taylor scored 281 runs at an average of 93.66 and a strike rate of 102.93.

In an interview with stuff.co.nz, Taylor talked about understanding his role in the team and discloses how playing spinners has evolved his game in a positive way.

“I’ve played a few internationals now and understand my role in the team. I’ve worked on my game and try and rotate the strike early and be as busy as I can. Different shots against spinners at different stages have maybe evolved my game in a positive way,” Taylor was quoted as saying by stuff.co.nz.

Despite his numbers being enough to possess a threat for the visiting Indian team, Taylor himself shortlisted three names which he believed were a threat to the hosts.

“He’s [Virat Kohli] a sensational player, the best one-day player going around, easily. It’s easy to get caught up in him. You’ve got two pretty good openers at the top, Rohit [Sharma] and Shikhar [Dhawan], before he gets in,” Taylor added.