When Virat Kohli Revealed 'The Joe Root Shot' He Wants To Replicate
Virat Kohli admires Joe Root [X.com]
Virat Kohli maybe a fierce competitor but the Indian legend also holds his opponents and counterparts in great regard and respect when they happen to perform and achieve special feats in his presence on the cricket field.
One of the opposition players he loves watching is England batting great Joe Root, who enjoys a terrific track record against India in Tests and One-Day Internationals and plays one stroke these days that even the former India skipper envies.
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During the ICC World Cup 2023 in October-November, Kohli revealed the stroke he would like to adopt from Root's book and perfect in the middle for Team India. The revelation came ahead of the marquee league stage encounter between the two countries in Lucknow.
When Kohli Revealed The Root Shot He Envies
Root has always been among the most solid and classical players at the international stage. However, it is not the batter's copybook strokes that Kohli wishes to imbibe but the adventurous "reverse lap" that he come to embrace, especially since the start of the 'Bazball' era under skipper Ben Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum.
Historically intent on playing the ball late, Root has now taken the aggressive route at the Test level and started playing a reverse lap to completely disturb the bowler's rhythm and lengths. Bar the odd occasion, the stroke has worked wonders for the elegant right-hander.
"Joe is a great all round, the way he plays the reverse lap, I would like to take that shot," Kohli said in a conversation with Star Sports.
Kohli played a leading role in India's magnificent run until suffering a painstaking defeat in the final in Ahmedabad. The great batter struck a whopping 765 runs in 11 innings, featuring three centuries, with one of them coming in the semifinal against New Zealand in Mumbai and was his unprecedented 50th ton in One-Day Internationals.
 "Kashish Chadha")
