Virat Kohli's extreme preparation for English conditions revealed by ex-coach

Virat Kohli (ANI Photo)

NEW DELHI: As India look to recover from a disappointing white-ball tour of the United Kingdom, former batting coach Sanjay Bangar has revealed the extraordinary lengths Virat Kohli went to in order to conquer English conditions, offering a fascinating glimpse into the meticulous preparation. India's tour has unravelled with a 0-2 T20I series whitewash by Ireland followed by an unassailable 0-3 deficit against England in the five-match T20I series after a crushing nine-wicket defeat in the fourth match in Bristol on Thursday. With an inconsequential fifth T20I still to come, attention is already shifting to the three-match ODI series beginning in Birmingham on Tuesday, where experienced campaigners Kohli and Rohit Sharma will return under the captaincy of Shubman Gill.

'We poured extra water on the pitch'

Speaking on The Great Indian Cricket Show on Doordarshan, Bangar recalled how Kohli completely overhauled his preparation after enduring a disappointing tour of England in 2014. "When you go to England, the entire game comes down to two things: how well you counter the swing, and how late you can play the ball," Bangar said. "Because Virat Kohli did not have a great run during the 2014 tour, he put in an immense amount of work during 2017-18 to fix that." Bangar revealed that India's training sessions in Mumbai were designed to mimic English conditions as closely as possible. "Our routine was brutal; we would hit a Mumbai ground by 6:00 or 6:30 in the morning just to chase the early dew. We wanted to start as early as possible so we could replicate English conditions, utilising the heavy morning atmosphere and the natural moisture on an uncovered pitch," he disclosed. When the weather became less challenging, the coaching staff improvised. "If the sun came out and the moisture on the wicket started dropping, we would literally pour extra water onto the surface just to keep the ball snaking around," he added.

Practice that paid off

According to Bangar, Kohli embraced the demanding sessions repeatedly in pursuit of technical perfection against the swinging ball. "Virat did that gruelling practice repeatedly," he revealed. The former batting coach believes those painstaking simulations played a significant role in India's improved performances in England. "Because three or four of our core batsmen managed to fine-tune their batting through those exact simulations, we were highly successful in winning matches over there," he explained. The revelations come at a time when India's young batting line-up has struggled badly in seam-friendly conditions during the ongoing T20I series against Ireland and England. Kohli, who trained in Mumbai with Bangar before travelling to England for the ODI leg of the tour, is expected to shoulder much of the batting responsibility alongside Rohit Sharma as India attempt to salvage pride after a disappointing T20I campaign.