Virat Kohli has a new admirer in Aravinda de Silva

Former Sri Lankan legend Aravinda de Silva was one of the finest to play the game and he was recently very much impressed with none other than Virat Kohli. The Indian skipper added one more legendary cricketer to his list of admirers when de Silva said that the Indian reminds him of the great West Indian Sir Viv Richards.

Silva also felt that Virat has the ability to change the complexion of Indian cricket to a whole different level, “It’s the way he approaches his game, and also his arrogance and confidence. I think he reminds me a lot of some of the past greats like Viv (Richards). The way he took on the mighty Australians in Australia was something very special. Like Sunil Gavaskar, Kapil Dev and then Sachin Tendulkar, who all changed the complexion of Indian cricket, Kohli has it in him to take Indian cricket to a different level,” he told The Times of India.

Meanwhile, The Indian skipper had a word of praise for his colleague Cheteshwar Pujara, whose solid grit turned the match in India’s favour. The skipper said that Pujara’s game has gone to the next level, as the batsman piled up 1500 runs in the last season and is working very hard on his batting.

Jadeja gets one-match suspension

The skipper also backed Ravindra Jadeja, who scored a valuable 85-ball 70 and turned out again, picking five wickets with the ball to hand India an innings and 53-run victory.

“He has the ability, he believes in it and he’s worked extra hard in the last 10-12 months on his batting also. He’s bowled so much that the other discipline was left behind, but now he’s catching up in that as well. It’s only going to do good to him” Kohli said.

Meanwhile, Jadeja has been suspended for the 3rd Test match at Pallekele, as he was found guilty of breaching article 2.2.8 of ICC Code of Conduct for player and player support system. He has also been slapped with a fine of 50% of his match fee.