Virat Kohli didn't need county stints to do well in England: Sunil Gavaskar

India Captain Virat Kohli’s heroics have made the news worldwide, winning him accolades everywhere, and his genius has now been appreciated by another one of India’s legends- Sunil Gavaskar. Like other Indian batsmen, had come under immense scrutiny after his woeful tour of England in 2014, where he averaged only 13.4 across 5 Tests, with many people questioning his ability to face the moving ball and others dismissing him as a “flat track bully”. But as it turned out, he is on the cusp of winning the game for his team at Edgbaston.

In order to prepare for this much-anticipated tour and shut down his critics, Kohli had signed up for a county stint. The likes of Cheteshwar Pujara, Ravi Ashwin and Ishant Sharma also soaked in the county cricket experience, however, Kohli had to withdraw due to the neck injury he sustained in the IPL.

He didn’t need to play County Cricket

Sunil Gavaskar hailed Kohli as “an exceptional talent” who “can get runs even if he wakes up in the middle of the night” after his 149-run knock in the first innings. He also highlighted the fact that the Indian captain didn’t need to play County to be successful in England.

“In doing so, Kohli made a mockery of the thinking that he needed to play county cricket to get a big score in England. There was never any doubt about both Ashwin and Kohli’s skill and temperament but more than to the rest of the world, they had a point to prove to themselves”,” he wrote in his column for the Times of India.

Gavaskar also agreed that Kohli is the batsman in the world and loved the way he didn’t succumb to James Anderson who was bowling extremely well to him.

“It was the Indian skipper’s turn to show why he is the best batsman in the world. He was watchful to start with and understandably so as India had lost three wickets in quick succession and Anderson kept probing him with an off-stump line and away swingers. Then he had some luck, as any batsman would require in such conditions,” the legendary cricketer further wrote.