Sadagopan Ramesh praises Virat Kohli’s performances in ODI series against South Africa

Former Indian Test opener Sadagopan Ramesh showered praise on Virat Kohli for his consistent performances in the three-match ODI series against South Africa. Ramesh praised Kohli for batting aggressively throughout the series and delivering the goods for the umpteenth time.

Kohli aggregated 302 runs in three games of the series at an average of 151 and a strike rate of 117.05, including two centuries and one fifty. The veteran batter batted at his absolute best and Ramesh claimed that he loved the aggressive version of Virat Kohli.

Sadagopan Ramesh said in a video on Instagram, “Virat Kohli now looks as a ruthless player. Even though he retired from T20I cricket, he showed the youngsters how to bat in the upcoming T20I series. His best version is when he is angry. Leave aside who he is angry at but the angry young man version of Kohli is at a different level. The no-look six – he barely looked at the ball – and then stared at the bowler for a second. The way Virat and Rohit Sharma batted, they are not only answering the bowlers but also answering those questioning them. In the last two ODI series, Rohit Sharma and Kohli have won the Player of the series awards. Simply unstoppable.”

The former flamboyant batter also praised Rohit Sharma, who scored 146 runs in three games at an average of 48.67 and a strike rate of 110.61. Ramesh lauded Rohit for improving his fitness at the top level.

“If you look at Rohit Sharma, he used to score centuries for fun and became an extraordinary ODI player. In 2023, Rohit used to score fast in the powerplay and usually got out for 30-40 runs. Now he is willing to bat the entire 50 overs and has regained fitness to the level of scoring big hundreds. He is batting at a different level,” said Ramesh.

Ramesh is optimistic that Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli will be part of the ODI World Cup 2027 squad.

“Questions surrounded over whether Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli will board the bus for the 2027 World Cup. Selectors said let them get on the footboard and if they are fit and performing, we’ll talk about booking their seats in the bus. Well, they have purchased the bus itself. Now it’s up to the selectors to decide whether they can get inside their bus or will hang on the footboard.”

India’s next ODI assignment is the three-match series against New Zealand.