Indian batting legend Rahul Dravid is worried that youngsters these days are trying to incorporate Virat Kohli’s on-field aggression into their cricket.
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Dravid came from a generation which consisted of good, well mannered individuals such as Ganguly, Sachin, Laxman, Kumble and Srinath. While they were extremely competitive on the pitch, they always tried to avoid verbal spars with the opponents.
This started changing around a decade earlier, with the next crop of Indian cricketers being far more aggressive than their predecessors.
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Kohli is the face of that change in attitude as he is not one to ever shy away from a fight. Now as the skipper of the Indian team, Kohli has moulded the side in his image which is why the side has also imbibed some characteristics of their captain.
While Dravid does admit that Kohli is a brilliant batsman, he is not a big fan of his approach to the game.
“Sometimes, especially before an Australia series, you’ll find Virat saying the most outrageous things. And I read the paper and cringe at times. But then I think back, maybe he actually wants that contest. He wants that lip on the field because that gets the best out of him. ”
“Now that might not be everyone’s cup of tea. But at the end of the day, he’s got to do what gets the best out of him. Ajinkya Rahane is very different and he gets the best out of himself by doing different things. I think being authentic to yourself is very, very important, said the former batsman.
This is a controversial point as it would be wrong to tell Kohli to change himself at this point in time. The Delhi batsman has become one of the best batsmen of his generation and his aggressive nature has played a big part in his success.
Then again, every generation needs a hero and Kohli is certainly this generation’s idol. Youngsters will certainly copy everything he does including his lip talk.
Maybe it’s just a different time!
