Young England batsman Ollie Pope on Saturday admitted that India captain Virat Kohli is someone who he doesn’t mind imitating, ESPNCricinfo reported.
The 20-year-old Surrey batsman was in awe of Kohli’s batting technique and said watching him, especially in the Nottingham Test where India beat England by a whopping 203 runs, was a treat to his eyes. “I usually don’t try and copy other players, but one player I wouldn’t mind is Kohli, to be honest,” Pope, who is currently on a tour to India with the England Lions, is quoted as saying.
“I think the way he [Kohli] played there [in Nottingham], it was awesome to play against him and see him first-hand. The way he stood outside his crease when he batted and tried to negotiate the swing. He was who I enjoyed watching and I learnt a lot from him,” he added.
Kohli played superb knocks of 97 and 103 to help India register its lone Test win over England in the five-match series last year.
Pope made his Test debut against India at the age of 20 and batted at the crucial no 4 spot, and by his own admission the experience was “surreal”.
“I sort of experienced the ups and the downs within two weeks of cricket, which has actually put me in good stead for the future. It doesn’t really get bigger than that,” Pope said.
“The Test series was a good way of me to understand what sort of a player I was. Mentally I felt I coped with all of that pretty well.”
(Clarification: The quotes were originally attributed to news agency PTI but it’s now been changed to ESPNCricinfo)