NEW DELHI:
Virat Kohli
hasn't won an IPL championship in 17 years, but
Andy Flower
, the coach of
Royal Challengers Bengaluru
, commended the star player for his unwavering "hunger" for the competition.
Rajasthan Royals eliminated RCB from the Indian Premier League playoffs on Wednesday in Ahmedabad, with a distraught Kohli tipping the bails following the team's four-wicket defeat.
Despite leading the Twenty20 tournament batting records with 741 runs-including five fifty-scores and a century-Kohli, 35, hasn't been able to lead his team through a turbulent season to the conclusion.
Flower expressed his excitement about watching the cricket superstar from India play in the
T20 World Cup
, which begins in the United States and the West Indies on June 1.
"Working in the same dressing room with him has been a real pleasure," former Zimbabwe captain and England coach Flower told reporters.
"As an ex-batsman it has been an absolute pleasure to watch him bat."
In the match that meant everything to win at the world's largest cricket stadium, Kohli struck 33 runs and showed no signs of weakness by running out Dhruv Jurel with a bullet throw from the outfield.
"The way he thinks about the game -- and he backs that up with an amazing level of skill, aggression and hunger -- I look forward to watching him in the World Cup," Flower said.
"I think it's amazing that he is still evolving his game, even though he has got an incredible record already," he added.
Known for expressing his feelings visibly, Kohli seemed upbeat during the intense match played in intense heat.
Despite his disappointment, he departed the field with the orange cap awarded to the top tournament run scorer securely in place.
Critics of Kohli's strike-rate in the brutal Twenty20 format at the beginning of the season included batting legend Sunil Gavaskar.
Despite being dubbed "King Kohli" due to his high run scoring, the batsman ended with a strike-rate of 154.69 in 15 games and 38 sixes.
Kohli, who had poked fun at his detractors, is at his best when things are tight. This was stated by former RCB teammate
AB de Villiers
.
"Maybe it was a blessing in disguise, getting a bit of criticism, because stuff like that motivates him so much," De Villiers said on Jio Cinema.
Australia great
Ricky Ponting
, who is the head coach of Delhi Capitals, also defended Kohli.
"It's funny with Virat," Ponting told the International Cricket Council.
"I think people in India just always try to find a reason... why he's maybe not as good as some of these other guys in the T20 game," he said, but added that Kohli is the "first pick for me for India."
(With AFP inputs)
English (US) ·