Legendary West Indies batsman Sir Viv Richards has backed Virat Kohli to succeed on India’s tour of England despite his Surrey stint being called off due to a neck injury.
The India skipper was slated to join Surrey in June for his maiden County stint but a neck injury suffered at the closing stages of the IPL has ruined those plans. Kohli was seeking to use the stint in England to acclimatise to the conditions after struggling on the last tour to the country.
The right-hander scored 134 runs in 10 innings during the 2014 tour of England.
According to the West Indies great, Kohli’s mental toughness should be enough to see him through.
“I would have loved to see him play county cricket. I think that was a wise move. I think he was aware of what took place last time. That’s good thinking. But it’s disappointing now that he can’t do that. But I think he is strong enough mentally. And I am backing him to do well,” the Caribbean legend was quoted as saying by the Hindustan Times.
The 66-year-old also expressed his admiration for Kohli’s aggressive captaincy.
Richards is an admirer of Kohli’s aggression.
“I love aggression. My whole style was aggression. I love Virat for that. I think one of the more important confrontations I have seen was when Virat scored four centuries in Australia against the best bowling attack. That’s the best way to respond man! If the Indian team had taken a leaf out of his book, I believe they could have won the series,” he said.
Widely regarded as one of the best batsmen of all time, Richards also warned England not to see India as poor travelers.
“England would be thinking India haven’t travelled that well. I don’t think that is true. I remember Cheteshwar Pujara playing that marathon knock in Johannesburg. You have guys who can do it. I think it’s a great opportunity. Virat will be looking to amend his last outing in England. And I will back him,” Richards added.
