Sanath Jayasuriya impressed with Virat Kohli's dedication

Former Sri Lanka swashbuckling opener and captain Sanath Jayasuriya is very impressed with the way Indian Test captain Virat Kohli has grown as a cricketer in the last few years. Jayasuriya feels it is Kohli’s hard work and rigorous fitness regime before each game that makes him a big match player. Kohli is someone who always strives for that extra yard and Jayasuriya felt it was his will to exceed at the highest level that made him rise above the rest.

“Virat is a dedicated player. He practices and trains hard before every match. He is always concentrating on his game and that is what you need,” Jayasuriya told ahead of the release of ‘A Tall Order’ by entrepreneur Kapil Pathare in Mumbai yesterday.

Kohli has been in a purple patch and has been very consistent with the bat this year across all formats. He has amassed 965 runs in 10 Tests at an impressive average of 68.92.

“He is a very professional cricketer. You have a big chance of performing well when you do all the hard work before the match,” the hard-hitting left-hander added. India has performed exceptionally well under Virat Kohli and has won 12 out of the 20 Tests under his leadership.

Jayasuriya also praised Indian spin ace Ravichandran Ashwin who has been pretty impressive with both bat and ball in the ongoing Test series against England. “As an off-spinner, Ashwin has improved a lot and as a batsman too he is doing well which is good for India.

He is bowling well and always wants to come up with new strategies which is working well for him,” Sri Lankan Chairman of Selectors pointed out.

A destructive opening batsman during his playing days, Jayasuriya urged his nation to back the young and inexperienced players as the team is currently going through a phase of transition after the retirement of stalwarts like Tillekeratne Dilshan, Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara.

“It is very difficult to replace players like Sangakkara, Jayawardene and Dilshan. They had experience of 15-16 years. That was a big task when they appointed me chairman of selectors (in April). I took the risk and we did well against Australia at home and won the Test series 3-0,” he concluded.