Former India wicketkeeper-batsman Farokh Engineer lauded Virat Kohli for wearing his heart on the sleeves and giving it back to opposition teams, highlighting the way India showcased the fighting spirit to turn things around and script a remarkable win over England in the 2nd Test at Lord’s earlier this month.
Farokh Engineer, speaking to SportsTak, said he was among the first ones to give it back to opposition teams and earn their respect. The 83-year-old former cricketer though urged India and their captain Kohli to exercise caution when getting involved in verbal volleys with the opposition.
Notably, Kohl was all fired up during the Lord’s Test, especially after Jasprit Bumrah and James Anderson were involved in a heated on-field battle. Kohl charged his teammates up and never shied away from giving it back to England players, including Anderson.
India headed into Day 5 of the Lord’s Test in a spot of bother and lost their last recognized batsman Rishabh Pant early. However, a fired up Bumrah and Mohammed Shami resisted England’s charge and added 89 runs for the 9th wicket that saw them stretch their lead to 271 following which India declared. India bowled England out for 120 inside two sessions on the final day to seal a 151-run win and go 1-0 up in the 5-match series.
“I admire Virat for that. He has been an aggressive captain. It’s good. Of course, it has to be within limits. Otherwise, the umpire or the match referee can intervene,” Engineer said.
“Maybe sometimes, yes (should he tone down his aggression?). He gets a bit too carried away, at times. But I like his aggression. He is a very good captain. I am all for it. He is I think one of the finest batsmen in the world.
“Also, they do sledging, so that your batsman lose confidence. But Bumrah and Shami were khadoos (stubborn), they replied in their own way. They couldn’t bat very well but they knew how to survive. By surviving, they got a lot of runs and those runs were very important in enabling Virat to declare the innings. That was humiliating for England,” he added.
