Ollie Pope In Awe Of Virat Kohli

When it comes to copying other batsmen, England youngster Ollie Pope usually says so. However, the newcomer in international cricket admitted that India captain Virat Kohli made him change his mind. Pope made his Test debut during the home series against India last year. And he says he does not mind imitating Kohli.

Kohli wowed the cricketing world once again during the last tour of England, outperforming every other batsman during the five-match Test series.  He was easily the best batsman in the series, across both teams. Kohli ended up at the top of the run charts, with 593 runs at 59.3 and justified his No.1 ranking among Test batsmen.

And it looks like Pope was mighty impressed with the India superstar, revealing that was in awe of Kohli’s batting technique  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,” said Pope.

“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 series.

Pope further said that just two weeks of experience in international cricket was more than enough for him to realise that what goes on at the highest stage of the game.

“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,” Ollie 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,” he added.

Pope, meanwhile, is currently in India for the unofficial Test series between England Lions and India A.