"It was awesome to play against him (Kohli) and see him first-hand." said Pope
Moneycontrol News
Batsmen in modern day cricket aren’t encouraged to imitate the batting style of their peers as coaches stress on developing one’s own technique. However, 21-year-old England batsman Ollie Pope admitted that India captain Virat Kohli is someone whom he doesn’t mind copying.
Pope, who is in currently on tour in India with England Lions said, “I usually don't try and copy other players, but one player I wouldn't mind is Kohli, to be honest."
The youngster made his England Test debut as a 20-year-old at Lord’s in the second game of India’s tour of England last year. He enjoyed a memorable first outing, scoring 28 runs as England beat India by an innings and 159 runs.
His debut at Lord’s was followed by another outing at Trent Bridge where he watched first-hand how Kohli got the better of a world-class bowling attack, with scores of 97 and 103 in both innings. India won that match by 203 runs and a poor run in that game meant Pope didn’t feature in the final two matches of the tour.
However, being in that close proximity to arguably the world’s best batsman surely helped Pope with regards to his own batting. “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 said.
Pope played in the same no. 4 position as Kohli in both those Test matches and still at a tender age of just 21, his prospect look bright for the future. Pope's experience of playing in those two Test matches, and even his subsequent exclusion from the squad helped him mature early on in his career. "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 for me to understand what sort of a player I was. Mentally I felt I coped with all of that pretty well."
Pope did later join the England squad for their tour of Sri Lanka but was released midway through to join the England Lions against Pakistan. Ben Foakes’ impressive form after scoring a century on debut at Galle has kept Pope out of the senior squad for the time being.
He is currently in action against India A in an unofficial Test at Wayanad where he managed just 8 runs off 22 balls in the first innings. India bowled out the England Lions for just 340 runs before going on to score 540/6d in their first innings. England Lions currently trail India by 180 runs after reaching 20/0 at Stumps on day 3.
(With inputs from PTI)
