NEW DELHI: As India look to bounce back from a disappointing white-ball tour of the UK, former batting coach Sanjay Bangar has revealed the extraordinary lengths Virat Kohli went to to conquer the English conditions, offering a fascinating insight into the meticulous preparation.India’s tour ended with a 0-2 T20I series sweep by Ireland followed by an unassailable 0-3 deficit against England in the five-match T20I series after a nine-wicket defeat in the fourth match in Bristol on Thursday.With an inconsequential fifth T20I yet to come, attention has already shifted to the three-match ODI series starting in Birmingham on Tuesday, where experienced campaigners Kohli and Rohit Sharma will return under the captaincy of Shubman Gill.
“We poured extra water on the field”
Speaking on the Great Indian Cricket Show on Doordarshan, Bangar recalled how Kohli completely overhauled his preparation after enduring a disappointing tour of England in 2014.“When you go to England, the whole game comes down to two things: how well you contract the swing, and how late you can play the ball,” Bangar said. “Because Virat Kohli didn’t have a great run during the 2014 tour, he has done immense work during 2017-18 to fix that.”Bangar revealed that India’s training sessions in Mumbai were designed to mimic English conditions as closely as possible.“Our routine was brutal; we had to hit a Mumbai ground from 6:00 or 6:30 in the morning just to chase the dew first. We wanted to start as early as possible so we could replicate the English conditions, using the heavy morning atmosphere and natural humidity on an uncovered ground,” he said.When the weather became less challenging, the coaching staff improvised.“If the sun came out and the humidity on the wicket started to drop, we literally poured extra water on the surface just to keep the ball snaking around,” he added.
The practice that paid off
According to Bangar, Kohli has embraced demanding sessions repeatedly in pursuit of technical perfection against the swinging ball.“Virat has done this amazing practice repeatedly,” I revealed.The former batting coach believes these painstaking simulations played a significant role in India’s improved performances in England.“Because three or four of our core batsmen have been able to hone their batting through these exact simulations, we’ve had great success in winning games here,” he explained.The revelations come at a time when India’s young batting line-up has struggled badly in seam-friendly conditions during the ongoing T20I series against Ireland and England.Kohli, who trained in Mumbai with Bangar before traveling to England for the ODI leg of the tour, is expected to shoulder most of the batting responsibility alongside Rohit Sharma as India attempt to salvage some pride after a disappointing T20I campaign.