Legendary all-rounder Mohinder Amarnath of India expressed on Thursday his admiration for Virat Kohli for the passion he puts into the cricket field and for Kohli’s brilliant performances for the country over the years.
Amarnath, who at one point in time was amongst the very top all-rounders and key member of India’s World Cup-winning team in 1983, has advised young ones to learn from Kohli.
“The person I enjoy watching and admire is Virat Kohli,” Amarnath said at the launch of his book: ‘Fearless: A Memoir’.
“The way he has been playing, the kind of passion he has shown over some time now, and the way he has played and performed-it’s brilliant. There is, I think, a lot of lessons in this for youngsters,” he added.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar graced the function.
Amarnath, who has turned 74, felt happy also for the outstanding performance of the young opener yashasvi jaiswal, who scored a century in the first Test against Australia in Perth to help India secure a famous victory.
“Any young player who comes in and does well makes me very happy because we all start young because when the opportunity does come, you have to take it with both hands, which they have, especially Jaiswal,” he added.
“If you see his record, it’s unbelievable; he is very consistent, and I hope this form will remain, and he is such a very positive player which I like as well. Because, one failure doesn’t make you a bad player, but as long as you have the talent, I am here sure it would only get better,”.
He not only declined to directly compare the 1983 World Cup-winning team with the Indian team of today.
This changes the entire format; in 1983 we played a shorter format where it was 60 overs, and this is a Test series that we are playing. But there is a lot of talent in this team, and experience also counts.
Hence, this is a mixture of youth and experience, like our 1983 team itself, as much as it may sound tough to anyone. I am happy with the way they have started playing, but I am sure one game is behind them now, and they will look ahead in the season.
Talking about the book he co-wrote with Rajender Amarnath, he said, “I am just sharing my good moments, my experience in this book and I hope that it will be used by you.
“My highs, my lows, all that I have seen, but I believe differently, live my life moment to moment. Never carried my yesterday into the next day and so that kept just going,” he said.
“So, having just positive for one day to fall is sufficient,” he added.
“Life always has good and bad days, so you have to think and keep backing yourself.”
On Amarnath’s comments on Jaishankar’s presence at the book launch, he said, “I have been following Dr Jaishankar and I like him, the way he is there for us and the things he has been doing for the country and the kind of person he is and the personality he has and the way he thinks.
Actually, he is someone we are proud of, and I am very grateful that he actually took time off to come; it is not easy for a busy man like him. I could not have picked anybody better than Dr Jaishankar to come and launch my book.”
On his part, Jaishankar paid tribute to Amarnath by saying, “I put out with the risk of embarrassing him, but he was the legend of our times. I could never have imagined you’d share a stage with him one day.”
“He commenced his Test career in 1969, when I was still in school. The team he played with, I happened to see the match in Delhi, which we happened to win at that time.
“But from 1969, anyone thinking about Indian cricket, I don’t think anyone is in doubt that 1983 was the inflection point. And not just the inflection point-His being the man of the match of the inflection point.”
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