'Watch out for this lad' - Duncan Fletcher had spotted the talent in Virat Kohli very early

Virat Kohli and his amazing consistency with the bat across all formats has always been a talking point among the cricket experts. From his U19 days, he has always looked to play for the team and the attitude has brought the best out of him. Even after becoming the Indian captain, Kohli has taken the team forward with sheer confidence and the results are there to see.

He is probably the only batsman to average more than 50 in all three formats at the moment. And when the three former cricketers Nasser Hussain, VVS Laxman and Kris Srikkanth came together for a chat, they were also in awe of the 31-year-old. Rather Hussain recalled his conversation with the former India head coach Duncan Fletcher when the latter had spotted the talent in the India skipper early.

Fletcher had replaced Gary Kirsten as India’s head coach after the 2011 World Cup and was at the helm for four years. During this period itself, Virat Kohli emerged as MS Dhoni‘s deputy even as the Indian team continued its rise albeit only in the limited-overs format. The team lost eight consecutive Tests overseas in 2011 while also lost a home series against England in 2012.

As far as his prediction about Kohli is concerned, Fletcher had told Nasser Hussain that he will be the player to watch out for in the future. “I was speaking to (former India head coach) Duncan Fletcher about him and he said ‘watch out for this lad. He has a real fight and character in him’,” Hussain said in Star Sports’ show ‘Cricket Connected’.

Laxman and Srikkant also laud Virat Kohli

During the conversation, VVS Laxman lauded Virat Kohli for his intensity on the field. He conceded that he was worried about the Indian captain burning out quickly but commended the way Kohli has maintained himself over the years. “The one thing I admire about Virat Kohli is his intensity. One thing I was worried about was whether he will burn out quickly. But not even one session or one over he lets his intensity drop and that is really commendable,” he said.

Moreover, Kris Srikkanth went one step forward and compared him with the World Cup-winning skipper Kapil Dev stating that the immense belief himself has made Kohli the best in the world. “I played with Kapil Dev and played under him. I can compare Virat Kohli with Kapil Dev. I see a tremendous amount of self-belief in him,” Srikkant said.