‘Don’t read too much into Kohli’s friendship comment’

Talking about the way the series was fought, renowned coach Dav Whatmore said India prevailed when it mattered. “Both teams were attacking and fighting well. But to chase big totals in the first innings and get a lead speaks volumes. India fought harder and with the way Australia drew the Test in Ranchi, they can go home with a lot of positives,” Whatmore said. 

Whatmore didn’t want to read too much into Kohli’s comments on the friendship between the players of the two countries. “It is different when you play for the country. If Kohli has Australians playing for RCB, he will welcome them as he wants to win every match for his franchisee,” he laughed. 

Commenting on the brain fade incident, Whatmore said he could understand how Smith would have felt at that moment. 

“In that moment, Smith was wrong. He was misguided by his junior batting partner (Renshaw) into checking with the dressing room. It was silly, he admitted the fault and we should move on. An error was committed and we all have to learn from the mistakes we commit and I hope Smith has learnt his lesson,” the 1996 World Cup winning coach of Sri Lanka added. 

According to Whatmore, India clinched the series on day one, when chinaman bowler Kuldeep Yadav bamboozled the visitors. Kuldeep played under “He is a match winner. He has more than one string to his bow — he is a team player, he is a good fielder and more importantly he is a wicket-taker and a positive influence on the team. It often does happen in a Test that what happens on the first or the second day shapes the match,” he added. 

Whatmore, who was inaugurating the Sri Ramachandra University’s Centre for Sports Sciences, said working with the grassroots was his forte. Athletes in the Centre for Sports Sciences can make use of the high performance centre (used in rehab process) under the guidance of a high performance coach from the University of Pretoria. Athletes can also use the Isokinetic lab (used for muscle strength tests), threadmill lab (used to improve aerobic capacity and is sports specific), ergometric labs and high altitude training labs for their tests and corrective measures that help an athlete hone his skills with respect to his body.