Former England pacer Steven Finn believes that retiring from T20Is and Tests has helped Virat Kohli remain fresh for the Indian Premier League (IPL), and he backed the stalwart to play the tournament into his 40s like MS Dhoni.
The 44-year-old Dhoni was a part of the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) squad but couldn’t feature in any of their matches due to injury concerns. Kohli, 37, is among the fittest cricketers around the world. On Sunday, May 31, his unbeaten 75 off 42 balls helped the Royal Challengers Bengaluru chase down a 156-run target against the Gujarat Titans in Ahmedabad to defend the IPL title successfully.
Kohli said he is motivated by watching youngsters perform well. Finn opined that the 15-year-old Vaibhav Sooryavanshi’s stellar performance could have been a source of inspiration for the former India captain.
“Taking a step back from T20Is and Tests has done him the world of good to be fresh for the IPL. He might go on like MS Dhoni to go on for another five or six years,” Finn said on For the Love of Cricket YouTube channel.
“It was interesting when he said the young guys motivate him and force him to improve. You would imagine performances from someone as young as Sooryavanshi is influencing a great player like Virat Kohli to look inwards. He is like fine wine at the moment and just getting better and better.”
“It did feel like the IPL was going to be the one that slipped past him” – Stuart Broad on Virat Kohli
Stuart Broad said that Kohli had won many trophies during his career, but the IPL title had eluded him for a long time, and everyone was rooting for him to end the drought. After winning the coveted championship in two consecutive years, Kohli earned rich praise from Broad for his fitness and determination.
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“He won every trophy throughout his career and has finally won two IPLs. It did feel like the IPL was going to be the one that slipped past him. It felt like everyone was desperate for him to win, but it looked like he just wasn’t going to get over the line. Kohli just never lacks the drive, and his fitness levels have influenced a whole generation of Indian cricketers,” said Broad (via the aforementioned source).
