I think as a person he is probably a bit more relaxed: Aaron Finch on Virat Kohli’s renewed approach to the game

Every time an Indian team tours any overseas country, the focus invariably falls on the prized wicket of Indian Captain Virat Kohli. There is nothing different on the current Australian tour, despite the fact that Virat Kohli will only be featuring in the first Test match at Adelaide. Australian limited-overs skipper and Virat’s RCB teammate Aaron Finch has given his two cents on how to deal with Virat Kohli and his machine-like run-scoring abilities. 

“I think there will be times when things boil over and when you have got strong characters on either team that’s going to come to a head at some point,” Finch told Sydney Morning Herald about Virat Kohli who averages 55.39 in 12 Test matches in Australia.. “(But) there is a fine balance there, isn’t there? You don’t want him (Kohli) to get up and about in the contest. When he does, he can be ruthless on an opposition.”

Aaron Finch, having shared a dressing room and a bio bubble with Captain Kohli during the IPL, says has observed a change in Virat Kohli’s approach. “I think the change is in the way he goes about it now. I think as a person he is probably a bit more relaxed out on the field and understands the tempo of the game. What really surprised me was how he obviously does a lot of planning and preparation himself, and into the opposition, but he never focused more on the opposition than his own team,” Finch said. 

“At Bangalore, he was always confident in the XI players that were picked and knew that if you played well, you had every chance of winning. I was really surprised by how confident he was in everyone, he had a lot of time for everyone. He was great around the group, a lot more relaxed. I had never played with him, I had only played against him,” Finch added. 

“We have had some great series where he has been on another level as a player but he has been right up and about in terms of being very vocal out in the middle. It was great to see that (relaxed) side of him.”

[HT inputs]