West Indies batsman Jermaine Blackwood revealed that a conversation with India captain Virat Kohli changed his mindset and helped him aim to bat long in a Test match.
Blackwood who came face-to-face with Kohli during the India vs West Indies Test match in Kingston, Jamaica in 2019, said he has interacted with the Indian captain a few times on social media.
"I talked to Virat Kohli a few times as well on social media. The last time India toured the Caribbean, I had a chance to talk to him in Jamaica when I was there subbing," Blackwood told ESPNCricinfo recalling the match in which he was drafted into the side as a concussion sub for Darren Bravo.
The right-handed batsman said he asked Kohli about not being able to convert his fifties into hundreds.
"So after the game, I just had a small conversation. I asked him about how I have a lot of half-centuries and [only] one century. He just said, 'What will you do when you score a century? How many deliveries did you face?' I said I faced 212 balls,” said Blackwood.
Blackwood went on to add how Kohli then told him not to think about the runs and instead bat as long as he can.
{{/usCountry}}Blackwood went on to add how Kohli then told him not to think about the runs and instead bat as long as he can.
{{/usCountry}}"He said, 'That's it, once you can bat some balls, you're going to score runs'. So I took a big thing from that. After that conversation, I tell myself that once I can bat over 200 or 300 balls, the way I bat, I can score runs regardless of who I am playing against or where I am playing," he added.
Blackwood, who was West Indies’ highest run-scorer in their last two-Test series in England and New Zealand, also shared how he got back to the Test side by working hard.
"I think I have been out of the West Indies team for almost three years," he said on his routines while being away from the national team. "On the sidelines, I did some work on my mental space. I trained twice a day and hit the gym every day. I put in a lot of hard work to be as fit as possible. I tried to come back as strong as possible. You can see the results. I am better at my shot selection, I am starting to understand my game very well, [and] I want to continue to do the same going forward."