Virat Kohli tried to get ahead of himself in last 3-4 years: Ravi Shastri

Ahead of the ICC Champions Trophy final former coach Ravi Shastri provided an indepth analysis of India star Virat Kohli as an ODI batter and said the right handers discipline awareness of match situations are what sets him apartKohlirsquos career in ODIs has been nothing short of spectacular scoring 14180 runs at an average of 5811 with a record 51 centuries firmly establishing his dominance in the formatThe 36yearold showcased flashes of his prime in the ongoing Champions Trophy 2025 when he first delivered a century against archrivals Pakistan before playing yet another masterful knock in the chase against Australia in the semifinalIn the latest episode of The ICC Review Shastri who worked closely with Kohli in a coachcaptain combination shed light on what makes him the undisputed king of the 50over formatldquoHis discipline his awareness of match situations are what sets him apart I thought he tried to get ahead of himself in the last three or four years where he was trying to outdo what hes good at and sometimes it can catch up on you Shastri saidBut hes back to what he does best which is take the singles hit the ball along the ground if necessary go for the big one Some of the greatest players who played the oneday game especially in the chase are guys who can do thatWhen you pick up singles with ease theres no pressure And then when you have another guy at the other end someone like Shreyas Iyer who comes and smacks it it takes the pressure off it becomes still easier he saidShastri recalled an instance from Indiarsquos 2018 tour of South Africa in Cape Town where Kohli was dismissed early in each innings but stayed back for an extra hour postplay to finetune his game In the next Test in Centurion he responded with a commanding 150The former coach also commended Kohlirsquos energy always giving it his all on the field and making sure hersquos in the gameldquoYou know people like to watch sport when they watch a sportsman with energy Whether his name is Cristiano Ronaldo or its Lionel Messi or whether itrsquos a Novak Djokovic or whether its Rafael Nadal that energy that they bring in ndash therersquos a certain kind of charisma and it rubs off on other people They want to watch this guy play Shastri addedIt just goes to show the amount of sacrifice an individual makes I saw that with Tendulkar loved his food loves to do things that the other boys wanted to do but said no he concludedIn the ongoing Champions Trophy Kohli is Indiarsquos highest runscorer with 217 runs in four matches at a strike rate of 8314 He will look to become a twotime Champions Trophy winner on Sunday when India take on New Zealand in the final in DubaiA victory would add to his illustrious collection which also includes the 2011 ICC Mens Cricket World Cup the 2013 Champions Trophy and the 2024 ICC Mens T20 World CupThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever