"Does Not Need Practice": RCB Coach Bullish About Virat Kohli Despite Spin Struggles
A 'genius' like Virat Kohli doesn't need to put in extra hours perfecting his play against spin, said RCB spin-bowling coach Malolan Rangarajan on the Indian superstar's improved strike rate against spinners this Indian Premier League. Questions have been raised over Kohli's play against spinners in the middle overs even previously in the IPL but talking about last year, Malolan said it wasn't fair to single out Kohli. "It wasn't only Virat last season who was not batting at the desired strike rate. It was the whole team. So I think the whole team got together. And that's precisely what happened. That's part one," said Malolan on the eve of the away game against Delhi Capitals here on Sunday.
"Part two is about Virat Kohli as the individual. He does not need to go and practice extra against left-arm spin and leg spin. He's batted for 20-25 years.
"He's a genius. He just has to decide what he wants to do and how he wants to take down a particular bowler.
"And it's very evident that someone like Virat, even after having played for so long, he's constantly looking at what more he can do. Which is, to me, unbelievable." Kohli was the leading run getter in IPL 2024 with 741 runs with his strike rate against pace and spin being 168.79 and 137.9 respectively. More than halfway into the current season, his strike rate against pace and spin stands at 147.76 and 140.57. Kohli could also end up topping the run-scorers' list if his team goes deep in the tournament.
"The attitude with which he comes into every training session, every match. So, Virat, I don't think he did anything specifically physically (on his spin play).
"Batting more of left-arm spin, batting more leg spin. It was just the group coming together and acknowledging the fact that we weren't good enough last year," Malolan went on further.
Bethell is destined for greatness
England batter Jacob Bethell is yet to get a game for RCB this season but Malolan rates him very highly.
"He's destined for greatness. I think England have a genuine superstar in the making. Selfishly, even RCB will be very happy to have caught him slightly early in the cycle," said Malolan who also performs the role of a scout at RCB.
Has role of anchors regained relevance?
The pitches have played slower this season but the likes of Virat Kohli and K L Rahul have thrived on that challenge.
Not so long ago, experts had predicted the death of the anchor's role in the shortest format but, without getting into that debate, Malolan has said his team has found a formula to succeed on slow pitches this season.
"Role of an anchor, I can only talk about how we are thinking. We rather address it as how we can assess a situation and adapt accordingly.
"Because in the days of an anchor, I don't know if 200 scores were breached as easily. Chinnaswamy has been challenging this year as a pitch. Last year also it wasn't as high scoring as it was previously. We've realised that there might be a formula of how we score runs.
"You look at games we've played against CSK. We're not particularly inclined to think about having an anchor. Because you see the way Virat is batting, he's more aggressive.
"Every time there's an opportunity for him to step on the pedal, he does it. Salt, we all know how he bats. It's only IPL and any T20 cricket is about how you're able to shift the momentum," the former Tamil Nadu spinner added.
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