India vs England 2018: Gautam Gambhir Hails ‘World Class’ Virat Kohli in England, Says Doesn’t Need to Prove Anything

The lynchpin of Indian batting - Kohli will once again be in the limelight during the upcoming five-match Test series between India and England, which will commence on August 1 in Birmingham.

Virat Kohli’s Test average of 53.40 easily puts him in the bracket of modern-day greats or ‘world class’ batters who are presently ruling the sport with their wielding willow. The Indian captain is not only a popular figure among the fans but is also rated very highly by the experts of the game for his outstanding skills and strong work ethics.

The 29-year old will once again be in the limelight during the upcoming five-match Test series between India and England, which will commence on August 1 in Birmingham. Several talks and rumours have started doing the rounds before the much-hyped contest as the series is majorly seen as the final frontier for Kohli, who failed to leave an impression on his last tour to Engalnd in 2014.

The ace batsman struggled to get going in English conditions back then and managed only 134 runs in five Tests in England. It was his one of his worst Test performances. Many critics believe Kohli’s performance in red-ball cricket on English soil will be the real test of his skills and it will put a stamp on his greatness in the game.

But, contrary to the popular belief veteran Indian cricketer and countrymate – Gautam Gambhir feels it is unfair to judge the Indian skipper on basis of his performance in England. He thinks Kohli should back his skills and go with the mindset that he has doesn’t have to prove his mettle in a particular country.

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The 36-year old Gambhir did a detailed analysis of upcoming India vs England Test series with Cricbuzz. He spoke about Kohli’s mindset in England, what strategy did the Indian team needs to adapt to succeed in the tricky English conditions.

“Someone like Ricky Ponting! He has only hand one international hundred in India and people still call him a legend. You can’t define someone if he has had just one bad tour. He (Kohli) has already proved himself in different conditions, so he should not be thinking on the lines that he has to prove something on the English tour,” said Gambhir.

“He has to be himself, not because he is the captain but because he is a world class batter and at the same time he is someone India expect a lot of runs from,” Gambhir added.

The former world number one Test batsman – Gambhir also gave a few insights to the Indian batsmen about their batting approach in overcast conditions. Gambhir feels India’s key to success will majorly depend on how the Indian batsmen will handle the daunting pace bowling duo of – Jimmy Anderson and Stuart Broad.

He iterated the fact that the visitors need to show patience when it comes to dealing with Anderson and Broad. to a 4-0 win.