Former Indian all-rounder Irfan Pathan in a latest interview said he believes Virat Kohli is very similar to Former Indian Skipper Sourav Ganguly in terms of backing the youngsters and grooming young talent.
"He (Virat Kohli) is also very akin to Sourav Ganguly. A guy who always, really, really well supports his youngsters, he (Virat Kohli) has that aura about him that he goes out of his way to support the youngsters" - Irfan said while on the Star Sports Cricket Connected show.
"We saw that in the press conferences, with Rishabh Pant, he goes and says, 'No, we just need to back a guy like Rishabh Pant on his ability'," the 35-year-old said.
The former Indian all-rounder also expressed his thoughts on how it should be ensured that the young talent of India which is going to take over the next generation stay focused and deliver to their maximum potential when playing at the highest level.
"We have seen so many players from U-19 India disappearing since playing the U-19 World Cup. At the international level, they do not end up fulfilling their potential that they might have. Also, we have so many cricketers playing the U-19 World Cup and then going on to play for India"
"There is a link between them which is first-class cricket. I think we need to make sure you have the right attitude to achieve the higher level, but at the same time making your game bigger, I think that's the biggest challenge facing any cricketer who plays U-19"
"As a cricketer, you need to make sure you aspire to get better at the U-19. The level of competition at U-19 level, first-class level and international level is not the same. You need to keep improving your cricketing ability but also your mindset, which is very, very critical at the same time, "added Irfan pathan.
Speaking on the same show, former England spinner Graeme Swann said among the emerging Indian players, one who has impressed him the most is young wicket-keeper batsman Rishabh Pant.
In the same show spoke the former England spinner Graeme Swann. He revealed that the Wicket-keeper Batsman Rishabh Pant was the one, who impressed him the most among all the emerging Indian players.
“I absolutely adore the way Rishab Pant plays his cricket. Irfan’s so right. Because he has someone backing him,” said Swann.
“You remember in the Test series when he came to England and first ball or second ball at Trent Bridge, he hit the spin bowler back over his head for six. I thought at that moment that this guy would be something special in Test cricket, because he is a youngster and yet he backs his game.He’s also got the team around him who backs up”, former English off-spinner added.
The former all-rounder Irfan Pathan has played 29 Test matches and 120 ODIs for Team India and has scored 1105 and 1544 runs respectively. He has picked up 100 wickets in Tests and 173 wickets in 173 wickets in ODIs. On January 29,2006 he became only the second Indian to take a hat-trick in the longest format of the game.
Cover Credits: SportsCafe
