Kohli has a follower in England’s Pope

Wayanad, February 10  

Ollie Pope is normally averse to copying somenone’s style, but the young England batsman has admitted that India captain Virat Kohli is someone who he doesn’t mind imitating. In awe of Kohli’s technique, the 20-year-old Surrey batsman said watching Kohli, especially in the Nottingham Test where India beat England by a whopping 203 runs last year, was a treat to his eyes. “I usually don’t try and copy other players, but one player I wouldn’t mind copying is Kohli, to be honest,” said Pope, who is currently on a tour of India with England Lions. “I think the way he played there (in Nottingham), it was awesome to play against him and see him firsthand, the way he stood outside his crease and negotiated the swing. He’s someone I enjoyed watching and I learnt a lot from him.” 

Kohli played superb knocks of 97 and 103 to help India register their lone Test win over England in the five-match series last year. Pope made his Test debut against India at the age of 20 and batted at the crucial No. 4 spot. “I sort of experienced the ups and the downs within two weeks, 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.” — PTI