'India under Virat Kohli reminds me of Pakistan under Imran Khan' - Sanjay Manjrekar

After India kicked off their 2020 campaign by defeating Australia in the ODI and T20I series at home, all eyes were on Virat Kohli and Co. to deliver an impressive performance in their first overseas series of the year against New Zealand. It was in all likelihood a cakewalk for the Men in Blue to carry on their prolific form as India decimated the Kiwis on their home soil by whitewashing them in the five-match T20I series.

After clinching the series in the third T20I itself in a nail-biting Super Over, Team India followed the trail of victory by clinching victories in the fourth and fifth T20I too. With the T20I series triumph, Virat Kohli and Co. etched their name into the record books by becoming the first team to clean sweep an opponent in a five-match T20I series.

The journey of Virat Kohli after becoming the skipper of India has been exemplary. From dealing with emotional temperament issues on the field to scripting new records and setting an example for his side– Kohli has undoubtedly emerged as one of the most successful captains of Team India. The 31-year-old has now become the captain with the most bilateral series wins after 15 T20Is. Kohli now has 10 bilateral T20I series win as captain – the most by any skipper in T20Is

Sanjay Manjrekar also lauded KL Rahul

Meanwhile, cricketer turned commentator Sanjay Manjrekar has drawn many similarities between Virat Kohli and former Pakistan skipper Imran Khan. Manjrekar has opined that both the skippers boast a strong self-belief in the team. Manjrekar also said that the Men in Green under Imran Khan used to find different ways of winning matches, often from losing positions. After the Men in Blue exhibited a strong mentality in both the Super Overs in the series, Manjrekar did not shy away from lauding Kohli’s leadership.

India under Virat in NZ reminds me of Pakistan under Imran. Strong self belief as a team. Pakistan under Imran found different ways of winning matches, often from losing positions. That only happens when the self belief is strong.

— Sanjay Manjrekar (@sanjaymanjrekar) February 3, 2020

Manjrekar also heaped praise on KL Rahul and his adaptability for playing multiple roles for India. The Karnataka batsman has diligently performed every duty that he has been assigned in the Indian team– a middle-order batsman, an opener, a dependable wicketkeeper and a skipper in the absence of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli.

Find of the T20 series in NZ for me is the ‘batsman keeper’ K L Rahul. Absolutely brilliant!

— Sanjay Manjrekar (@sanjaymanjrekar) February 3, 2020

Manjrekar further lauded Rishabh Pant and Sanju Samson, saying the next batting brigade of India obviously have the skill & the power game and they just need to tweak their batting skills in a smarter way. Post the T20I series, India and New Zealand are now slated to lock horns in a five-match ODI series starting from 5 February at Seddon Park.

Samson & Pant… the next batting brigade of India obviously have the skill & the power game they just need to infuse a small dose of Virat’s batting ‘smarts’( mind) into their game.

— Sanjay Manjrekar (@sanjaymanjrekar) February 3, 2020