'Hum bhi ek aise khiladi ke saath khela karte the' - Virender Sehwag gives Sachin Tendulkar's example as Virat Kohli returns for 2nd England ODI

Fans cheered big and loud when Rohit Sharma confirmed Virat Kohli’s return for the second ODI against England at Lord’s on Thursday. The former skipper missed the first match due to a minor groin strain. There was a question on  availability for the second match as well, but the star batter was spotted batting in the nets. After the training session, he gave thumbs up to Indian head coach Rahul Dravid, which clearly suggested his return.

Meanwhile, former Indian cricketer Virender Sehwag replied to the fan’s expectations from Kohli just before the match. He feels that Kohli has raised the expectations from the fans as he used to score a hundred in every three-four matches. Sehwag said that his former teammate Sachin Tendulkar faced the same kind of expectations in his playing days.

“I think everybody is waiting for a hundred from him, which hasn’t come for a long time. If you take a look at his past record, he used to score a hundred in every 3-4 matches. That hasn’t happened for some time now and maybe that is why there is so much talk about it. Hum bhi ek aise khiladi k saath khela karte the jinka naam Sachin Tendulkar hai. (we used to play with another such cricketer, whose name is Sachin Tendulkar),” Sehwag said on Sony Sports.

If he hadn’t scored runs for 3-4 innings, there used to be discussion which used to reach a stage where it felt like he hadn’t scored for long. He also used to score in every 3-4 innings, the same is with Virat Kohli,” he added.

Despite failing to hit big in the last two years, Kohli is the highest-ranked Indian batter in the ICC ODI batters’ chart. He keeps contributing with crucial small innings and has maintained an average of over 35 in the last two years. Kohli will be looking to end his century drought by hitting big in the next two matches against England.