‘He’s doing it very well’: Mark Taylor calls star India batsman a ‘very powerful guy’

Former Australia captain Mark Taylor played in an era where he witnessed what the likes of Sachin Tendulkar, Brian Lara, Michael Atherton, Inzamam Ul Haq and many more were capable of doing. But rest assured, none of those players come close to the transformation India captain Virat Kohli has shown over the years.

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The upcoming Test tour of Australia will be Kohli’s third Down Under as a professional cricketer, which saw him evolve from a brash 23-year-old playing his first Test in Australia to lead India to their first Test series win in 71 years.

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This time around, even though Kohli will not play the entire four-Test series due to the birth of his first child, as long as he is there – for the T20Is, ODIs and the first Test, all eyes will be on the India captain. Kohli, known for his aggressive demeanour, is at times criticised for his occasional over-the-top shenanigans, but Taylor believes the India captain blends it well with his experience.

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“I think he is a very powerful guy in world cricket, but I think he does a very good job to walk that fine line in being an aggressive cricketer and also a statesman. I think he’s doing it very well,” Taylor was quoted as saying by The Sydney Morning Herald.

“I think he treats that responsibility with great respect. He’s still very much his own person when you watch him play. I’ve always found him in the times I’ve spoken to him to be very respectful to the game and those playing it and those who have played it.”

Kohli’s first Test century was against Australia, when he scored 116 in Adelaide during the 2011/2012 tour even as India were whitewashed 0-4. In 2014, Kohli burned up the charts with 692 runs, including four centuries, two of which came in the same match – at the Adelaide Cricket Ground. In his last tour Down Under, Kohli scored 282 runs including a century at Perth and led India to a historic Test triumph, capturing the series 2-1.