Published 20:07 IST, May 18th 2019
Rahul Dravid says this quality makes Virat Kohli stand out from the rest; also showers praise on MS Dhoni ahead of the World Cup
The ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 is around the corner. In less than a fortnight, the world's 10 best teams will be competing for global supremacy in England & Wales.
The ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 is around the corner. In less than a fortnight, the world's 10 best teams will be competing for global supremacy in England & Wales. Team India are also labelled as one of the favourites to win the World Cup along with the hosts England and defending champions Australia. India will be led by the charismatic Virat Kohli, who will be hoping for a good tournament both with the bat as well as by leading from the front, so that India can win their third World Cup title at the 'Mecca of Cricket' in Lord's on July 14.
Before Team India leaves for London, former India skipper Rahul Dravid has come forward to appreciate Virat Kohli's ability to improve himself and reinvent his game. Dravid also said that this quality made Kohli stand out from the rest. The 'Wall of Indian Cricket' was of the opinion that Kohli has become a successful player due to his ability to learn from every tour. At the same time, the 46-year-old has also acknowledged Kohli for coming close to Master Blaster Sachin Tendulkar's ODI centuries which looked unconquerable at one point of time. Sachin has 49 ODI tons while Kohli has already registered 41 of them.
At an awards show, Dravid said that Kohli keeps on improving as well as getting better. The Indan skipper is setting bars and standards that possibly one thought would never be achieved. He then added that after Sachin had scored 49-50 centuries in ODI cricket, everyone wondered that it would take a lot of time for someone to break that record but now, Virat is only 10 centuries away and is indeed close to it.
READ: Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma take a breather ahead of World Cup 2019, here's what they're doing
Dravid, who was an integral part of India's 2003 World Cup squad that made it to the finals, also showered praises on MS Dhoni who had led India to their second World Cup triumph in 2011. The U-19 World Cup-winning coach said that Dhoni was a big-match player as he has been a part of these big matches as well as the big tournaments on so many occasions.
India will be playing two warm-up games, one against New Zealand on May 25 and the other one will be against Bangladesh on May 28.
The ICC Cricket World Cup will be played in England and Wales from May 30-July 14. The host England and South Africa will play in the World Cup curtain-raiser on May 30 at The Oval. Team India kicks off its campaign against South Africa on June 5.
Updated 14:07 IST, September 25th 2019