Virat Kohli never deviates from his process, says Rashid Khan

Virat Kohli never deviates from his process, says Rashid Khan

Virat Kohli has great self – belief, said Afghanistan spinner Rashid Khan

Star Afghanistan spinner Rashid Khan feels the reason behind Virat Kohli’s batting success is that the Indian skipper never deviates from his process, irrespective of the quality of delivery bowled at him. The leg-spinner feels Kohli’s strong suit is that he has faith in his batting abilities and is not compelled into playing any shots he is not confident, giving due respect to the good balls. “If there is any other batsman, he will come under pressure if you bowl well to him. He will play a shot which is not his strength like a sweep, a slog sweep or any other different stroke,” Rashid said on the Youtube show ‘Cricast’

“[But] Virat will follow his own process. He goes with his mind. He has his own style and he goes with that. He doesn’t do anything different. I think that is why he is very successful. He has a process.

“He will respect good balls. He will punish loose balls. He has great self-belief. Some batsmen don’t have self-belief. That is why they struggle. He believes in his own strength,” Rashid added.

Rashid, who is a vital cog in the Sunrisers Hyderabad bowling attack in the Indian Premier League, is eager to play under the leadership of former India skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni.

“I have dream that I play under MS Dhoni. Because the experience (of) playing with him, under him is very important. For a bowler, the role of wicketkeeper is very important and I don’t think there is anyone better than him to explain you things,” Rashid said.

Rashid also recalled the advise the veteran wicketkeeper-batsman gave him recently. “Every time after our matches, the discussions that I have with him has helped me,” Rashid said.

“Every time after our matches, the discussions that I have with him has helped me.“

Last time he told me ‘You have to be careful while fielding, you slide, throw the ball when it is not necessary, you get aggressive. Because there is only one Rashid and people want to see you more, what will happen if you get injured? Keep this in mind, I tell (Ravindra) Jadeja the same thing.’”

Rashid is also in awe of India’s white ball vice-captain Rohit Sharma’s ability with the bat and the extra second that he always has.

“I agree he has more time. He has got a lot of time. I have seen very few players who have a lot of time. It is natural for some players to have more time.

“The way he pulls even if it is 145 plus or 150 kmph, the way he hits, it seems the ball is 125 or 130 kmph. He has got great time. He doesn’t hit too many powerful shots. He believes in his timing.”

Rashid, who was a part of the currently-suspended IPL, is completing his quarantine ahead of the the Pakistan Super League (PSL), starting here on Wednesday.