Published 20:36 IST, June 20th 2023

Kevin Pietersen can't stop singing praises of India's 'wonderful player' even during Ashes

During the Ashes, Kevin Pietersen showered praises on the Indian batsman for his record against spin bowling in the longest format of cricket.

Reported by: Anirban Sarkar
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Kevin Pietersen with Nasser Hussain and Jonny Bairstow (Image: Sky Sports/Twitter) | Image: self
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Why you're reading this: Virat Kohli is regarded as one of the most decorated batsmen in the history of Test cricket. The Indian batsman has scored and broken galore of records in the longest format. The 34-year-old failed to inspire India in the World Test Championship final as they lost to Australia in the summit clash earlier this month.

3 things you need to know

  • Virat Kohli has 28 Test hundreds and an equal number of hundreds.
  • It hasn't been an easy ride for him in the last couple of years
  • He also has seven double centuries to his name

Kevin Pietersen showered praises on Virat Kohli

Virat's struggles against spinner have been a big dent in his recent Test career. The stalwart had undergone a long bad patch in his career and it was mostly due to his inability to deal with the spinners. His strike rate against the spinners hasn't been that good and the opposition bowlers have exploited his weakness. 

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Bowlers like Nathan Lyon made merry against him multiple times and debutant Todd Murphy too managed to get the better of him in the Border -Gavaskar Trophy.

Read More: Virat Kohli continues philosophical streak with another cryptic post after WTC Final loss

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But Kevin Pietersen during his commentary stint on Sky Sports in the Ashes lauded Virat's effort when he came to know that the Royal Challengers Bangalore player has been stumped just once in his entire Test career. It was Todd Murphy who bamboozled Virat and Alex Carey didn't make a mistake in dislodging his stumps.

“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.”

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Read More: Virat Kohli inspires with intense gym session video; 'Look for excuses or...' - WATCH

Former Sri Lanka captain too praised the player as he reveals how the player can hit big strokes without coming off his crease. “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.”

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20:38 IST, June 20th 2023