Virat Kohli's exemplary work ethic continues to serve as a source of inspiration for his teammates and the Indian superstar remains committed to raising the bar for himself, said Dinesh Karthik, batting of coach of IPL side Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), on Thursday.
Karthik, a former RCB player who retired after the last IPL edition, said Kohli remains as hungry as ever.
"Even today, just now as I came out, he wanted to work on one more shot. At this point in time, to do that tells you a lot about his hunger to succeed," the former India wicketkeeper-batter said on the eve of RCB's match against Chennai Super Kings.
"He wants to just improve and keep raising the bar. So, he is a special player. And at this point in time, the way I see it, he is batting as confidently and as well as he has ever done in the IPL."
Karthik also played down Kohli's recent struggles against spin.
"He has done extremely well in the Champions Trophy. He has batted well in the recent past against spin, especially in white-ball cricket. So, I don't want to go too deep into stats," Karthik said.
"See, in the World Cup final, he got runs where it mattered. And apart from that, in the Champions Trophy, he had a great tournament and was among the top run-getters.
"And that doesn't come without playing spin because, in Dubai, as you all know how well the conditions helped the spinners. So, I believe right now, he is batting as well as he has ever done."
RCB have not beaten CSK at their home ground even once in the last 16 years. Rajat Patidar and his men will once again face a spin test when they take on the five-time champions at Chepauk on Friday.
Asked if playing spin is a problem area for the RCB batters, Karthik said, "I don't think there's any problem. We played one match, a completely new side to what we had last year. One of the strengths, I believe, is the way we play spin. And as this tournament unfolds, you'll see it happen.
"CSK have three good spinners, no doubt. But we also have very good batters, competent batsmen, who we trust. One of the reasons why we picked them is how well they play spin," Karthik added.
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