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Virat Kohli is an important player for India, says head coach Rahul Dravid, who is pleased with the reenergized former captain’s performance at the Asia Cup and advised people not to get too caught up in numbers.
In India’s group-stage victory over Hong Kong, the 33-year-old Kohli made an undefeated 59 runs, and he appears reenergized ahead of the Asia Cup holders’ Super Four match with fierce rivals Pakistan in Dubai on Sunday night.
“It’s nice to see that he has come back fresh,” Dravid told in a pre-match press conference.
“He played very well in the last match, and we are happy with his performance. For us, it’s not really about how many runs he makes.”
“Especially with Virat, people get a little bit obsessed with his statistics and his numbers. For us, it’s not really about that,” said Dravid.
After dealing with mental health concerns, Kohli admitted lately that he had attempted to fake his intensity. He then took a hiatus from cricket and missed India’s visits to the West Indies and Zimbabwe.
With a critical 35 in the tight victory over Pakistan, Kohli started the six-nation competition, which is a crucial warm-up for the T20 World Cup next month.
“For us, it’s about the contributions he can make in different phases of the game and what the contribution is. It doesn’t have to be in fifties or hundreds or a stat,” said Dravid.
“Even small contributions mean a lot in T20 cricket, what is the role of a player and what the team needs. Virat is pretty keen in putting in big performances. Hopefully he can keep doing that in the tournament.”
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