Kolkata
Led by Kohli, India succumbed to a 146-run drubbing at the hands of host Australia in the second Test. The third Test begins in Melbourne on Boxing Day. Richards said Kohli’s leadership qualities and ‘stomach to compete’ should hold India in good stead in the two remaining games.
“India has got a wonderful opportunity to win the series. It would have had a setback in Perth, but it can still win. It has a captain like Virat who wears his heart on his sleeve and has the stomach to compete and drag his players to victory,” said Richards.
In the same breath, the 66-year old West Indies batting great pointed out that even without Steve Smith and David Warner, the Aussies are a formidable unit as they can match up the dearth of talent with their attitude. “I am still backing it (the Indian team) to win the series, but one should never ever forget, the Australians, even without Steve Smith or (David) Warner, are still a formidable force. What they miss in talent, they will bring it intheir attitude,” he added.
Always effusive in praise of Kohli, Richards said it would be ‘jumping the gun’ to rate him among the all-time greats as he needs to finish his career first. “Among modern day players, he is my favourite. I have various categories. I think we got to wait until he finishes his career (to put him in the bracket of all-time greats). We would be jumping the gun if we do that now,” opined Richards.
Terming Sunil Gavaskar as the ‘Godfather of Indian batsmanship’, Richards asserted India should be very happy to have batting greats at different generations. “India has had its fair share of batsmen, these folks can be called role models. One among them is Sunil Gavaskar, who is the godfather of Indian batsmanship. Sachin Tendulkar would have followed, and then Kohli. India should be quite happy to have these individuals,” he said.
Visit news.dtnext.in to explore our interactive epaper!
Download the DT Next app for more exciting features!
Click here for iOS
Click here for Android