Virat Kohli is like a modern-day hero: Steve Waugh

Former Australia skipper Steve Waugh has lavished praise on Virat Kohli, hailing the India skipper as a “modern-day hero”. The legendary cricketer was all praise for Kohli’s attitude as he said the 32-year old represents the “new attitude of India”. Waugh also expressed his fascination over the way the fans celebrate the game in India.

Kohli is indeed a modern-day hero as millions across the country idolize him. The right-handed batsman had emerged at a time when the likes of Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Virender Sehwag and other greats were in the twilight of their illustrious careers. Team India were in a desperate need of a flag-bearer and Kohli rose to the occasion.

From the last one decade or so, Kohli has been India’s batting mainstay and is widely regarded as the best all-format batsman in the world. He is currently the top-ranked ODI batsman in the world and features in top ten of the other formats too. At just 32, he has slammed more than 20,000 runs with the help of 70 centuries and 110 fifties.

“What they love about Kohli is that it’s like the new attitude of India, get stuck in, don’t be intimidated. Take everything on and anything is achievable and possible. But he’s like the modern-day hero,” Steve Waugh said in the documentary on discovery+.

The documentary narrated by veteran cricket commentator Harsha Bhogle, directed by Nel Minchin and written by Mithila Gupta, also features additional interviews by former India batsmen Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, alongside former Australia wicketkeeper Adam Gilchrist and former Australian women’s captain Lisa Sthalekar.

Steve Waugh fascinated about India:

Steve Waugh further spoke about his fascination for the way cricket is treated in India. Waugh visited India for the first time in 1986 and has been in awe of the country since then. Waugh also said that his recent trips to places like the stadium in Dharamshala and Oval Maidan in Mumbai gave him Memories of a lifetime.

“Capturing Cricket is especially very near to my heart as it covers two of my passions i.e. cricket and photography. Since, my first visit to India in 1986, I was always fascinated by how the locals celebrated the sport of cricket,” Waugh said.

“My recent journey visiting Taj Mahal, Chinnaswamy Stadium, the Maharajah Lakshmi Vilas Palace, HPCA Stadium, Oval Maidan, as well as locations around Delhi and Kolkata, gave me stories and lifetime memories. I am positive that when the fans in India watch the documentary, they will be able to feel the very emotion of the journey,” he added.