Virat Kohli's U-19 Coach Reveals How Star Batter Got Better With Every Passing Game

Virat Kohli had nothing to boast of as he returned from a forgettable tour of England in 2014 with his pride dented by James Anderson. Desperate to assert himself on the big stage, Kohli dialled his Under-19 coach Lalchand Rajput. Sachin Tendulkar too had offered some tips, but a two-week training camp in Mumbai with Rajput was the real turning point in Kohli's career. Kohli's desperation was justified as the numbers — 134 runs from 5 Tests at 13 and 54 runs from 4 ODIs at 18 — reflected his struggles in the seam-friendly English conditions.

"I had known him from Under-19 days and we had a good rapport because I could understand him. I had spent a good amount of time with him — from 2006 to 2007 with India U19. So, it was good to get a call from him after that England tour in 2014, where he never had a good series," Rajput told PTI from Netherlands.

So, what were the areas he worked in Kohli's batting? "We had a two-week camp in Mumbai. By then, he had already improved a lot as a batter from his U19 days, and it was clear that he was on his way to become a great player. It was a matter of working on a few areas closely.

"His head was falling a little bit and his footwork was a little indecisive. So, we worked on those areas a bit. He has always been receptive and adaptive as a batter, and he did that here too as he quickly made the changes before going to Australia," said Rajput.

Those two weeks of rigours did not fail Kohli as the Delhi man firmly established himself as a premier batter during the tour to Australia from November 2014.

Kohli hammered twin tons in Adelaide followed by masterly hundreds in Melbourne and Sydney, aggregating 692 runs from four Tests at an average of 86.50 with four centuries.

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