Sanjay Bangar, the last batting coach of India, revealed the technical and mental recorded changes that Virat Kohli made after the 2024-25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy. He said that Kohli upped his intensity, adopted an eagle-eyed watch of the ball, and adjusted his bat swing to play as late as possible after returning to India, where he was spotted working with Kohli.
It has been a rocky Australia tour for Kohli, who scored a hundred in the first Test in Perth but couldn’t cross the 50 mark thereafter. Neither did his Ranji Trophy comeback go as planned, nor did his time against England in the home ODI series before the Champions Trophy. However, in the UAE, he smacked a brilliant knock of 100 runs, not out, against Pakistan to give the opposition hardly any chances in India’s second game of the campaign.
“He was willing to wait for the ball. He really wasn’t on the front foot all the time. He also looked for runs in the infield. What is good to see against spin was that for the first half of his innings, it was all off the back foot, and once he built that confidence, he started coming forward. It was that plan to start from the back foot and on to the front foot,” Bangar told Star Sports.
“When Kohli was in form, the bat used to come from the second or third slip area, and under Anglian’s tighter operations, he has always been a player performing with better shot selection. He is a guy who leaves no stones unturned, so in preparation. There were elements wherein he knew he had to turn himself around in the course of the Australian series. He expressed his intentions, and you could see it in his body language,” he added.
He did very well to watch the ball all the way to the bat; this was discussed-watching the ball like a hawk and giving it more than a hundred percent each delivery. This is a sign; he is very hungry for runs, and he should be there for another three or four years. The way he plays has shown that he is capable of it,” said Bangar.
India have now beaten Pakistan by six wickets and arrived at the semi-final stage. They will face New Zealand next Sunday for the final game of the league stage to complete the table standings.
