Former Indian opener Kris Srikkanth has showered praise on Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma for guiding the youngsters after the three-match series against South Africa. Kohli and Rohit have all the experience under their belt and they were seen encouraging the young players.
While Kohli stitched a fine alliance of 195 runs with Ruturaj Gaikwad in the second ODI at Raipur, Rohit added 155 runs with Yashasvi Jaiswal in the deciding game at Vizag on Saturday. Subsequently, Kohli added 116 runs with Jaiswal for the second wicket.
Furthermore, Kohli and Rohit were seen helping stand-in captain KL Rahul in the field settings and bowling changes.
“Hats off to these two, look at the way they guide youngsters. Jaiswal was struggling big time but look at the way Rohit Sharma guided him. First 60 balls, just 36 runs for Jaiswal and he was struggling with his bat, hands and feet. But Rohit kept telling him to wait and not rush. It was when Rohit himself was going great guns,” Srikkanth said on his YouTube channel.
“Once he got out, Virat Kohli came in and guided Jaiswal to the century. That’s the greatness of Virat and Rohit. Last match, Virat guided Ruturaj, he scored a century. In this match, he guided Yashasvi Jaiswal to a century in just his fourth ODI. I give a lot of credit to Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma for how they guide youngsters. Even bowling, Rohit guided the likes of Kuldeep beautifully when it came to reviews.”
“Yashasvi Jaiswal had the best place to play, batting in the middle of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli. What else do you need? When you are struggling, its best to be on either side of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli. What else does someone need in life?”
Meanwhile, Jaiswal scored a match-winning knock of 116 runs off 121 balls. The left-hander completed his fifty off 75 balls and then changed gears to deliver the goods. Srikkanth said there were life lessons in Jaiswal’s knock.
“There was a life lesson in Jaiswal’s knock today. Everyone will go through a bad time where runs won’t come and the feet won’t move. That’s when Rohit Sharma went to him and told him not to worry and just hang in there by biting your teeth. It was a lesson for Jaiswal or any youngster that during challenging times, it’s important to bite your teeth and just hang in there. Then your time will come like it did for Jaiswal once he reached 40. He raced to the century then,” said Srikkanth (via the aforementioned source).
India will next take on South Africa in a five-match T20I series, starting Tuesday.
