Rahul Dravid impressed by Virat Kohli training intensity, great example for youngsters

Kohli
found
form
during
the
Asia
Cup
in
the
UAE
earlier
this
year
after
enduring
an
extended
lean
patch
and
continued
his
magnificent
run
in
the
T20
World
Cup
in
Australia.

Last
week,
the
former
India
captain
brought
up
his
44th
ODI
hundred.
And
the
head
coach
Dravid
heaped
praise
on
the
star
India
batter
for
the
way
he
controls
situations.

“He
(Virat)
knows
when
to
be
aggressive
and
when
to
control
the
game,
it’s
incredible
to
watch
and
a
good
sign
for
us
if
he
can
build
up,”
Dravid
said
in
a
video
released
by
the
BCCI
on
its
website.

“Virat
has
an
incredible
template
in
50-over
cricket.
His
record
speaks
for
itself.
It’s
phenomenal
the
number
of
games
he’s
played.”

Dravid
added
that
Kohli’s
training
intensity
never
wanes
whether
he
is
in
form
or
not,
and
that’s
something
the
youngsters
in
the
team
can
learn.

“He
feels
he’s
back
and
is
training
as
hard
as
I
have
ever
seen
him.
For
me,
that
has
been
a
stand
out,
watching
him
train
this
past
year,
that
never
changes
irrespective
of
whether
he
is
doing
well
or
not
and
that
is
a
great
lesson
for
a
lot
of
the
young
players
in
the
group,”
added
Dravid.

Dravid
feels
WTC
final
spot
reason
for
aggressive
cricket

The
former
Indian
batter
felt
teams
have
become
more
aggressive
and
are
pushing
for
results
as
the
race
for
the
World
Test
Championship
final
spots
heats
up.

“Teams
have
already
been
more
aggressive
over
the
last
bit;
we
have
seen
a
lot
more
results.
Teams
are
playing
for
results
a
lot
more
now,
especially
with
the
World
Test
Championship
points
at
stake.”

The
Indian
head
coach
Dravid
also
believes
teams
must
be
able
to
adapt
to
every
situation
to
succeed
in
Test
cricket.

“I
still
think
adaptability
is
going
to
be
very
important
in
Test
cricket,
the
ability
to
play
aggressively
when
you
need
to…
or
you
can
play
aggressively
with
the
kind
of
squad
you
have
or
the
position
you
find
yourself
in
the
game.

“And
then
the
opportunity
to
play
a
difficult
period
or
day
of
Test
cricket
either
with
the
bat
or
ball
and
knuckle
down
and
play
some
hard
cricket.

“The
teams
that
have
that
adaptability
or
the
ability
to
switch
even
in
between
a
Test
match
are
the
ones
that
are
going
to
be
very
successful,”
he
added.

Donald
one
of
the
best
I
have
ever
played
in
my
career

Bangladesh
bowling
coach
Allan
Donald
had
issued
an
apology
to
Dravid
for
sledging
the
Indian
batter
during
a
tri-nation
series
match
in
1997.

“There
was
one
ugly
incident
in
Durban
when
I
talk
about.
Dravid
and
Sachin
were
smoking
us
to
all
parts.
I
overstepped
the
mark
a
little
bit.
I’ve
just
nothing
but
massive
respect
for
Rahul
Dravid.

“I
would
love
to
sit
with
Rahul
and
go
out
for
a
dinner
and
say
sorry
to
him
again
about
what
happened
that
day.
I
just
had
to
do
something
silly
that
brought
his
wicket
actually.

“But
I
still
apologise
for
what
I
said
that
day.
What
a
great
guy,
what
a
great
bloke.
So
Rahul,
if
you
are
listening,
I
would
love
to
have
a
night
out
with
you,”
Donald
said
in
an
interview
on
Sony
Sports
Network.

Dravid,
on
the
other
hand,
was
all
praise
for
the
former
pacer,
adding
that
he
would
love
to
pick
his
brains.

“He
was
a
great
bowler.
He’s
probably
one
of
the
best
I
have
ever
played
in
my
career.
I
must
admit
when
I
see
him
now
and
meet
him
at
the
ground
‘It’s
much
nicer
to
see
you
like
this
without
a
ball
in
your
hand
and
top
of
your
mark
with
the
sunscreen
on
the
face.’

“He
was
an
intimidating
fast
bowler
and
a
terrific
one.
I
would
love
to
catch
(up)
with
him
and
talk
about
fast
bowling,
he’s
gone
on
to
become
a
very
successful
coach,
coaching
a
lot
of
young
fast
bowlers.

“We
have
got
a
lot
of
young
guys
as
well
and
it
will
be
good
to
pick
his
brains.
Just
the
privilege
of
sharing
the
field
with
him
is
phenomenal,”
Dravid
said.

(With
PTI
inputs)