Virat Kohli is fired up all the time, biggest boon to cricket, writes Ravi Shastri

The Indian skipper Virat Kohli averages above 50 in all three formats of the game and went past 23,000 international runs in the fourth Test against England at the Oval, which India went on to win to get a 2-1 lead in the five-match series on Monday (September 6).

Head coach Ravi Shastri might be away from the team since he is currently under quarantine after testing COVID-19 positive, but his bond with captain Virat Kohli which has powered India to great heights in all three formats of the game. Shastri claims that seen any other batsman apart from Kohli dominate in the game as much since the West Indian legend Vivian Richards in his new book – ‘Stargazing: The players in my life’. “Virat is consistently striving to give that extra edge, which in turn can give the team some advantage in the contest. He thrives on adrenaline and is fired up all the time, which some see as effrontery to cricket’s etiquette, but he is what he is,” Shastri writes about Kohli. The Indian skipper averages above 50 in all three formats of the game and went past 23,000 international runs in the fourth Test against England at the Oval, which India went on to win to get a 2-1 lead in the five-match series on Monday (September 6). In 96 Tests, Kohli has scored 7,765 runs with 27 hundreds while in 254 ODIs he has tallied 12,169 at an average of almost 60 with 43 tons. He also has 3,159 runs in 90 T20Is with 28 fifties to his name.