Virat Kohli valuing Test matches more is great for Indian cricket's future: Rahul Dravid

Indian captain Virat Kohli has time and again expressed his love for Test cricket. Rahul Dravid recently acknowledged Kohli’s love for the longest format of the game, by describing it as a “good thing for India”. Former Indian skipper and a Test batting ace himself, Rahul Dravid admires the fact that Virat Kohli understands the value of success in the game’s oldest format.

Also Read | Virat Kohli Meets Rahul Dravid, Social Media Is Left Love-struck

Rahul Dravid speaks about Virat Kohli and modern-day Test batting

Rahul Dravid was recently involved in an interview with Sanjay Manjrekar on ESPNCricinfo. In the interview, the former Indian cricketer said Virat Kohli understands that his real respect will come through performing well in Test matches. Popularly known as “The Wall” for his defensive technique during his playing days, Dravid believes that it is a good thing for the future of Indian cricket if their captain is valuing Test matches.

Rahul Dravid also spoke about the level of batsmanship as seen in Test matches these days. He said that due to the rise of T20 contests and number of limited-over fixtures, batsmen in Test cricket have incorporated an aggressive element into their stroke-play. Rahul Dravid believes that the addition of aggression has only made Test batsmanship today more exciting than it has ever been.

Incidentally, Dravid has been amongst the few who have overseen Kohli's growth as a cricketer upclose and personally, having been his first captain at RCB in the IPL 2008.

Also Read | IPL 2020: Virat Kohli Claims RCB Will Win IPL In Reply To '13 Kya Hoga Kohliya', Watch

Interestingly, Virat Kohli is not the only Indian cricketer who believes Test cricket is the essence of the game. Cheteshwar Pujara is currently a prominent feature of the Indian Test batting line-up who bats at no.3 in the format. Moreover, Pujara has played 75 Tests for India since his debut in 2010 while he has donned the Indian limited-overs jersey only five times during the same period.

IPL 2020: Virat Kohli in RCB

Apart from captaining India in all three formats, Virat Kohli also leads the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) franchise in the Indian Premier League (IPL). During the IPL 2020 trading and transfer window, the franchise retained the cricketer for ₹17 crore (US$2.2 million) for the 2020 season. However, the ongoing coronavirus pandemic and India lockdown have postponed the launch of the tournament until further notice. IPL 2020 was originally intended to commence on March 29.

Also Read | Virat Kohli, Mohammad Shami Troll Cheteshwar Pujara Over '1st Session Post Lockdown' Meme

Also Read | RCB Captain Virat Kohli Talks About IPL 2020; Says 'Optimistic That It Will Be Played At Some Stage'