He’s peaking at the right time: Virat Kohli’s childhood coach Rajkumar Sharma hails his resurgence

Virat Kohli has been in imperious touch ever since his return from that one-month break and the kind of strokes that he has played is simply a blazing ode to his brilliance. He braved a prolonged lean patch and now that he is back among runs, the bowlers are finding it increasingly difficult to crack the Kohli code in the ongoing T20 World Cup.

With 220 runs from 4 games, Kohli is cruising in the race to become the leading run-scorer in the ongoing T20 World Cup. He is also a vital cog in the Men in Blue’s ambitions of ending a prolonged ICC trophy drought with the last one coming in 2013 when India beat England in the Champions Trophy final.

Seeing Kohli bat in such effusive flow, his childhood coach, Rajkumar Sharma explained the difference in approach between Kohli now and what it was a few months back.

Speaking on the sidelines of a Kohli mural being crafted to celebrate his 34th birthday, Sharma said, “He’s more relaxed now. The good thing was that he took that break. He was playing a lot of cricket, and he wanted to relax a bit. That’s exactly what he did—took some time for himself, spent time with his family.”

He further added, “He is very fresh now, and whenever he’s fresh, his preparation is really good. He has worked hard for this World Cup and that is showing on the ground.” Kohli’s childhood preceptor also explained that Kohli was very much in the midst of runs even in his lean patch. However, he set the bar so high for himself that it was very difficult to get the better of them.

Speaking about Kohli’s 71st century, Sharma said, “It was not that he was not making runs at all. He wasn’t able to match up with the benchmark and expectations that he sets for himself. People expect a lot from him, which is good. Fortunately, he’s peaking at the right time again and playing some good cricket. I hope that he continues to play in the same way and wins the World Cup for India.”

He concluded by talking about VK’s straight six against Rauf, saying, “Technically, he’s very correct, which is why he was able to execute that shot. He was prepared that if Rauf bowls that length, he will hit him there. And the next ball too he was ready for that flick shot (it went for a six too), knowing well that Rauf will bowl into his pads. He’s always thinking one step ahead of the bowler. He visualises it, which makes him so great.”