After marriage to Anushka, Virat to begin training with childhood coach

India captain Virat Kohli's marriage to actor Anushka Sharma has kept him busy ever since the three-Test match series against Sri Lanka concluded in New Delhi. Kohli, who is believed to be on his honeymoon, will soon be back in the nets, training with Rajkumar Sharma at his childhood coach's academy in New Delhi. Sharma, who was one of the few to be invited for Kohli's marriage in Tuscany, Italy, has returned to India and is in Mumbai as coach of Delhi's under-23 team. The young side are playing Mumbai in the CK Nayudu Trophy final at Mumbai Cricket Association's Bandra Kurla Complex ground.

India skipper Virat Kohli checks his bat during training at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore in September. Pic/PTI

'We have very little time'
"We have very little time now, but there's still a week for practice. We will work on his batting," Sharma told mid-day yesterday. Kohli had a good last tour to South Africa in 2013-14 when he contributed chiefly to India's creditable draw against Graeme Smith's team in the opening Test at Johannesburg. Kohli's 119 and 96 earned him the man-of-the-match award. However, on India's Test tour of England in 2014, Kohli could manage only 134 runs in five Tests. Sharma revealed that the prolific batsman and he are working on getting the cut shot to be more effective. "Virat is very good at the pull shot and now he's working on the cut. As a young player, he was fortunate to play on matting wickets at the academy and those pitches helped him deal with short deliveries well. That is why he is comfortable against the short stuff and is not scared of anybody," said Sharma, indicating that the South Africans could be in trouble if the master batsman gets going on their turf.

Kohli's childhood coach Rajkumar Sharma at MCA-BKC ground yesterday. Pic/Subodh Mayure

'It's all Kohli's hard work'
The coach did not want to take any credit for his ward's current stature in world cricket. "It's all due to his talent, hard work and work ethic. More than anything else, it's his hunger for runs and victories that has made him such a consistent performer," stressed Sharma. Coming back to preparations for the South Africa tour, Sharma said: "We prepare wickets which he will encounter in South Africa and there will be fast bowlers to bowl to him as well. There will be a lot of preparation for the South Africa tour, but of course he knows how to tackle such situations."

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