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Anderson should look at his own performance: Kohli’s childhood coach

Virat Kohli’s childhood coach Rajkumar Sharma termed Jimmy Anderson’s comments about the batsman’s technique as “immature” advising him to concentrate on his own performance.

Kohli scored his career-best 235 in Mumbai Test which India won by an innings and 36 runs but Anderson said that any technical deficiency that the Indian captain is not in play because of the pitches.

“This is a childish statement from Anderson. What has he done in the matches that he has played? He is also not getting wickets in India. He may be a good pacer but he has to also take wickets in India. Taking wickets in England can’t be a parameter to term someone great,” Sharma said.

Sharma thinks that Anderson has not been able to digest that Virat has been scoring runs in every Test match.

“Just wanted to remind Anderson that Virat has five Test hundreds in Australia which produces the fastest pitches,” said Sharma referring to Kohli’s 992 runs in 8 Tests.

If Kohli, who has 640 runs in the series so far, can score another 135 in the Chennai Test, he can surpass Sunil Gavaskar’s record score of 774 runs in his debut Test series in the Caribbean in 1971.

“I expect him to break Sunil Gavaskar’s record and he may get two more innings to achieve the target. Although Virat does not play for records and may be he is not even aware of any such record but this is a golden opportunity I must say,” Sharma said.

Earlier, Anderson, who dismissed Kohli four times during India’s Test series in England in 2014, had said that the India captain was not tested enough in home conditions.

“I am not sure if Virat Kohli has changed. I just think any technical deficiencies he has got are not in play out here. The wickets just take that out of the equation. There is not that pace in the wicket to get the nicks, like we did against him in England - with a bit more movement,” said England’s highest ever wicket-taker in Test matches.

“When that (pace and movement) is not there, Kohli is very much suited to playing in these conditions. He is a very good player of spin - and if you are not bang on the money and don’t take your chances, he will punish you,” he added. Many cricketers came into support of Kohali and criticised  Anderson for his comment. Former Inidian captain Kapil Dev supported the Indian skipper saying that he has not seen  a cricketer like him and he can score in all conditions.  

Kohli is two-times more aggressive than me: Sourav Ganguly

Virat Kohli is two-times more aggressive as the India captain than me, former skipper Sourav Ganguly said on Wednesday. “His aggression is two-times more than mine,” he told reporters on the sidelines of the Sourav Ganguly Foundation and Sourav Ganguly Cricket School launch, which is powered by PitchVision Cricket Technology here. The technology is a motion-tracking tool which helps players at the grassroots level better their skills through television and academy style feedback. Ganguly, during his time as the India captain was also known to be an aggressive leader, famously celebrating India’s Natwest triangular Series win in 2002 by taking off his shirt at the Lord’s cricket ground. 

Kohli also is not known to give an inch to the opposition. The dashing right-hander recently led India to their fifth successive Test victory after India’s innings and 36 runs win at Mumbai, their biggest triumph over England in Tests at home. Kohli also became the first Indian captain to win five successive Test series – 2-1 vs Sri Lanka in 2015; 3-0 vs South Africa in 2015-16; 2-0 vs West Indies in 2016; 3-0 vs New Zealand and 3-0 (leading) vs England in 2016-17. On his Foundation aimed at school children and the lesser privileged ones at different district schools of the state, Ganguly said, “Through PitchVision we promise to take cricket in West Bengal to the next level. 
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