Former England captain Graham Gooch reckons Virat Kohli’s “extra motivation” could prove to be dangerous for the home side in what will be a tight Test series due to the prevailing heatwave in the country. The first Test starts in Birmingham on Wednesday.
“He (Kohli) is a top ranked player in the world at the moment and I think a dangerous customer for England as he has the motivation to improve his record in this country. Every player wants to be known to be able to play well in all sorts of conditions,” Gooch told BCCI.TV in an interview.
“Well, they are both world-class players across formats of the game. They are both match-winning players. I love watching Virat Kohli and Joe Root bat. They both play all round the wicket and they are both positive, very focussed and I like to see that.
“And I think one thing that people should remember what sets them apart in the modern era – people who watch shouldn’t remember how many runs they score or what innings they played. But (they should remember) when Virat Kohli or Joe Root played an innings that helped them win the match for their team. That’s what counts, not the number of runs.
“It might be 50 in difficult conditions or 150 on a flat wicket but when your performance helps your side win the match, that’s when you should be proud of,” said Gooch, who had famously ‘swept’ India out of the 1987 World Cup with a marvellous century in the semi-final in Mumbai.
