Pat Cummins talked about his intense on-field battles with Virat Kohli, while Muralitharan lauded the Indian batting maestro’s passion towards the game.
Australia captain Pat Cummins opened up on his on-field battles with Indian batting maestro Virat Kohli. The two star players of their respective teams have been engaged in several battles, the recent one was in the 2023 ODI World Cup final where the Aussie captain emerged victorious as he got the better of him by cleaning him up for 54.
Pat Cummins opens up on his battles with Virat Kohli
“It’s always good coming up against Virat, he has got me a few times and I have got him a few times. It’s always pretty good,” Cummins told Star Sports.
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The Aussie paceman also talked about the impact of legendary players like Sachin Tendulkar and Kohli in the batting line-up.
“Firstly, same with Tendulkar if they are batting the whole of India’s watching which is always great, Great fun lots of people tuning in for the contest. You have to gotta lock-in and lock-in early or else they are off to a flyer,” he added.
The Australian star was recently named the captain of the Sunrisers Hyderabad franchise in Indian Premier League, it will be his first season leading a team in the cash-rich league.
Meanwhile, bowling great Muttiah Muralitharan heaped praise on Virat Kohli for his passion and determination towards the game of cricket. The Indian superstar has been ruling the cricketing world with his supreme consistency with the bat over the years. He has put in a lot of hard work to improve his fitness and worked on shortcomings to become one of the best batters to ever play.
The 35-year-old brought a fitness revolution in Indian cricket during his captaincy tenure which helped the team become one of the fiercest competitors in overseas conditions across formats. Kohli also surpassed legendary Sachin Tendulkar’s tally of most ODI centuries, during the ODI World Cup 2023.
Muralitharan talked highly of Kohli and said his self-belief and determination make him a perfect role model for any budding cricketer.
“If you want to be a cricketer everyone would love to be like Virat Kohli. He believes in himself, he is one player who puts a lot of hard work and he is determined to perform well. He has a lot of good qualities as a cricketer – he is passionate about it,” Muralitharan told Star Sports.
The legendary spinner asserted that Kohli’s passion and hunger to win remains the same whether he is leading the team or not.
“When you play you see whether he plays as a captain or a player he wants to win and wants to compete. He is so dedicated to the game and he has put a lot of effort to the game and he is a very hard worker,” he added.
The Sri Lankan great also pointed out similarities between him and the former India skipper and said, “We both are serious and we want to win.”
Muralitharan who has played alongside Kohli at RCB in IPL, said off the field the Indian star is a fun-loving person.
“But outside cricket, he is very fun, very normal and he is not like tensed stuff like, you know, determined like that. He is a fun-loving person and had great times within RCB if you want,” he concluded.
Kohli is currently on a break from cricket as he withdrew his name from the ongoing Test series against England due to personal reasons. Recently, he also became the father of a baby boy and is expected to return to competitive cricket with Indian Premier League later this month.
