During the first Ashes Test between England and Australia at Edgbaston, an unexpected topic of discussion among experts Kevin Pietersen and Kumar Sangakkara was none other than Virat Kohli. As Day 4 came to a close, the two former cricketers engaged in a conversation, highlighting the fact that it was the first instance in Kohli's Test career where he was stumped.
Kohli a wonderful player of spin
As the host further emphasised that this year marked the first time Kohli had been dismissed through a stumping, it prompted Sangakkara and Pietersen to express their admiration for the talented Indian batsman.
"He [Virat Kohli] is a wonderful player of spin, and you sort of understand it because they play spin off the back foot and have such beautiful wrists. You hardly ever see Virat running down, charging, and going all guns blazing, and he certainly doesn't sweep, reverse sweep. I mean, you can watch him bat. Mentally, you can see him batting there, so you can sort of understand that," Pietersen said on Sky Sports.
Mordern tweaks to combat the length
Adding to the conversation, Sangakkara emphasised the significant influence of the Indian Premier League (IPL) in shaping the playing style of modern batsmen.
"He [Kohli] is also a kind of IPL mode, isn't it? A lot of these players are very happy step-hitting from the crease. So, they don't allow bowlers to bowl on a length, so the old art of having to use your feet against spin is gone, or they don't do it anymore. You drop down and work a single. No, just stay in the crease and hit it out of the park. That's true," said that legendary wicketkeeper batter.
Following India's loss to Australia in the ICC World Test Championship final, Kohli is currently relishing a rare period of rest. However, he will soon shift his focus towards bouncing back as India gears up for their upcoming tour of the West Indies scheduled for next month.
