When a teenager Virat Kohli was asked about his favourite cricketer, he had no qualms in taking Herschelle Gibbs' name. Apart from his declaration of being a ‘quick bowler’, there was nothing to contest in that ICC U19 World Cup introductory video, which can be easily found on social media. 17 years later, as Virat Kohli announced his retirement from Test cricket, his 'favourite cricketer', Gibbs made heads turn, not for the right reasons.
Often looked at with the corner of the eye for his flamboyance and inhibition-free thought process, Gibbs ruffled the fans of Virat Kohli by criticising his technique. The former South Africa batter, whose muscling of the fast bowlers was as famous as his notorious lifestyle off the field, said Rohit Sharma has a far better technique than Kohli.
Gibbs jumped into a debate that many would happily avoid, even among close peers. But then again, when was Gibbs acting goody goody?
It all started when a fan posted a comparison video of Kohli and Rohit Sharma. Kohli was seen playing a cover drive against the turn while Rohit, to a delivery pitched in a similar region, decided to play a booming sweep shot. The fan claimed the biggest difference between Kohli and Rohit was that even in his worst days, Rohit adapted to the conditions and the bowler but Kohli didn't. He continued to play the same way even after it got him into trouble.
Gibbs took note of that video and wrote: "It’s up to the batting coach to give him more options to score no matter who the batter is.. thank me later."
{{/usCountry}}Gibbs took note of that video and wrote: "It’s up to the batting coach to give him more options to score no matter who the batter is.. thank me later."
{{/usCountry}}Nothing controversial here but it's what happened in the threads of this post that created all the noise. Gibbs was answering fan queries to justify his point. "A coach can’t force you to play shots you don’t normally play but encourage you to add to your scoring repertoire," he replied when a fan asked him to elaborate more on the batting coach's role.
While Gibbs was replying to fans, one of them asked, "What do you think, which batsman is technically correct among the two??"
"Rohit was always more technically correct than Virat but Virat's desire to dominate especially in white ball format is a major difference between the two batters," Gibbs replied.
Yes, it was that easy and straightforward for Gibbs, almost shooting from point-blank distance.
When a fan disagreed with Gibbs' assessment by stating that Rohit has never had a settled batting position in Test cricket, the former South Africa batter countered by saying: "You ever see Rohit defend balls on 4th or 5th stump? How many times did Virat get out doing just that ? Rohit definitely technically better than Virat."
Rohit and Kohli, two stalwarts of India's batting unit for the last 15 years or so, retired from Test cricket in a span of five days, leaving a huge void in India's batting unit before the England tour.