Rahul Dravid showers praises upon Virat Kohli

Virat Kohli was ruled out of the second Test after suffering from a back spasm just ahead of the second Test match. However, before any of this happened, when there were expectations that Kohli will be starting the Test, Rahul Dravid dropped massive praises on the Indian skipper.

Dravid quoted on Sunday, “I know there's been a lot of noise on other issues a little bit, outside of the group, even leading into this Test match, but honestly, in terms of keeping the morale high, it's not been very difficult because, to be honest, it's been led by the skipper himself," Dravid said on Sunday (January 2).”

He continued by saying, “I think Virat has been absolutely phenomenal over the last sort of 20 days that we've been here - the way he's trained, the way he's practised, the way he's connected with the group.”

The wall of Indian test cricket couldn’t simply stop with his plaudits as he was heard quoting, “You know, as a coach sometimes leading into the series, that there's not really too much you can do once the game starts. So there's not too much you can control in the results. But what you're really looking to do as coaches or as support staff is to prepare well and get the team into a really good space. And, you know, Virat has been phenomenal in that and the way he's led the team... he's been absolutely and truly a leader. And I couldn't speak more highly about him and the way he's committed to his own preparation, his own practice, and also just the way he's connected with the group over the last two weeks on and off the field.”

Dravid has been a close observer of the Indian skipper in the longest format of the game. He further cited, “Just observing him around the group, how relaxed he's been, how calm he's been and how he's preparing and how switched on he is. I think there's a run of scores... may not happen in the next game. I would really hope it happens in the next game. But I do feel with someone like him, you know, we're going to see a really big run of scores once that clicks in place because yeah, he's really led the way and I couldn't speak more highly of him. I think he's been a real credit to himself and to Indian cricket. You know, these last two weeks in spite of all the noise that's been there around him."

Talking about Kohli’s lack of centuries, Dravid said, “There are phases in your career where probably you know you feel you're batting well, but the big scores don't necessarily come. It happens and it happens to everyone. It just so could be happening for us that three of them are going through that similar kind of phase at the same time I think the good point is that they seem to be batting really well, they are playing particularly well. So they're getting off to starts. And they know how to convert. It's not that these guys don't know how to get 100s or they haven't done it before.

"So, it's just a matter of time. I mean, they've been preparing well, they've been practicing really well. I think they're in really good space as well. So, I'm really hoping that we will see some, some really good performances over the next couple of games and like I said these are challenging conditions. So, it's not always going to be easy to sometimes convert some of these starts. I do feel as a coach just looking in and just watching them train and looking at the kind of space, they're in. I just feel that you know, there could be some good runs around the corner."

He concluded by saying that the self-analytic nature of the boys has kept complacency at bay. He said, “The boys themselves have mentioned to me that, in the past, when they've gone 1-0 up, they haven't responded as well as they would have liked in the next one, in particular the next game. So I think it's really nice if those kinds of conversations actually start from the boys themselves because it becomes really easy from a coaching perspective. It's in the front and center of their own mind that they want to respond and they want to respond well and they don't want to have those highs and lows that probably you know have happened in the past.”

"So really, it's been interesting for me to just listen in on some of the conversations when we were in the dressing room even just after winning the game. And just to kind of focus on it. It was quite heartening as a coach because you know that you're not having to push it or you're having to drive it too much. So I think the boys are aware that in the past may be at times we've kind of slipped up after winning a game. So I think you know, hopefully, we should try and do better this time and we'll be switched on. We can't guarantee it will always happen and that we'll get the right result but hopefully we get into the right space and we get into the right frame of mind and be switched on and ready to compete and then whatever happens over the course of the five days you know, we accept it to learn and we move on to what has worked and will work."