'As great as Tendulkar and Viv Richards were...': West Indies legend Ambrose on Virat Kohli's 'weakness'
Curtly Ambrose gave the examples of Sachin Tendulkar and Viv Richards to talk about Virat Kohli's greatness.
The hundred that Virat Kohli scored in the second Test against the West Indies at the Queen's Park Oval in Port of Spain, Trinidad, was his first away century in red-ball cricket since November 2019. That was also his first outside Asia since 2018. For three years between 2020 and 2022, his average was well below 30. And yet, Kohli's current average in Tests is 49.29. He has scored 8676 runs - the third-most among active cricketers - and has 29 centuries - the same as Don Bradman. Despite not being anywhere near his best for three years, Kohli has a record that is still unthinkable for most batters in world cricket. This is the biggest proof of his greatness and why even a 60 or 70-run knock seems like a failure for him.
Kohli has been often criticised and perhaps rightly so for flashing at full and wide deliveries that have brought about his downfall. He has also been found wanting against quality wrist spin and left-arm spin occasionally in recent times but former West Indies fast bowler Curtly Ambrose is not ready to term those as Kohli's "weaknesses" or "vulnerabilities". Instead, the legendary cricketer said that when a player of Kohli's class plays for this long, there are bound to be phases when he won't score that heavily.
"Every batsman is vulnerable at some point. I think batsmen are most vulnerable at the start of their innings, and maybe the start after every break when they have to start again. I don’t like this idea of people talking about batsmen being vulnerable here or vulnerable there — all batsmen can be dismissed, doesn’t matter how great you are. I just figured I would leave the subject, because it’s not something I entertain," Ambrose told Rev Sports.
Ambrose namedrops Sachin Tendulkar, Viv Richards to praise Virat Kohli
The towering figure who has more than 600 international wickets, gave the examples of Sachin Tendulkar and Viv Richards to further highlight his point. "As great as Sir Viv was, he’s been dismissed for low scores. As great as Sachin Tendulkar was, he’s been dismissed for low scores. All great batsmen have gone through low scores. I’m not one of those guys who would talk about weak here or weak there, or vulnerable here, all batsmen can be dismissed," he added.
Ambrose also lauded Kohli for his fitness and said that has played a huge part in him becoming such a successful all-format batter.
‘I have always admired Virat Kohli’: Ambrose
"I’ve seen him play for a number of years, and I’ve always admired his way of playing. A lot of people will see the end results because he scores a lot of runs, but behind the scenes, he puts in a lot of work. Whenever he speaks, he thrives a lot on his fitness, his diet, and all that. We see the end product, meaning when he goes out in the middle, but there’s a lot of work going on behind the scenes. Someone I’ve admired, easy to watch, good on the eyes.
"He is not the kind of guy who is ultra-aggressive like others, going for sixes and stuff like that. He can do that if he wants to, but his natural game is defence. Very fluid in his strokeplay, can score quick if he wants to without hitting a lot of sixes, and is just a wonderful player to watch," he said.
Kohli will next be in action in the three-match ODI series against the West Indies starting Thursday in Bridgetown, Barbados.
