IND vs PAK 2022: “People get a little obsessed with his statistics and numbers” - Rahul Dravid opens up on team's expectations from Virat Kohli

Rahul Dravid has stated that Team India are not so concerned with the volume of runs that Virat Kohli scores. The head coach explained that they are seeking significant contributions from him that will benefit the team.

Kohli has returned to international cricket with the ongoing Asia Cup 2022 after being rested for the white-ball tours of West Indies and Zimbabwe. He has looked in decent touch, registering scores of 35 and 59* against Pakistan and Hong Kong, respectively.

The right-handed batter will be in action again when the Men in Blue face arch-rivals Pakistan once more in the Super 4 round on Sunday, September 4. At a press conference ahead of the match, Dravid was asked for his assessment of Kohli’s performance since returning from a short break. The head coach said:

"For us, it's not really about how many runs he makes. Especially with Virat, people get a little bit obsessed with his statistics and numbers. For us, it's really not about that. It’s about the contributions he can make in different phases of the game. Even small contributions mean a lot.”

The Indian legend asserted that he is hopeful of Kohli building on his confident start to the Asia Cup and performing even better in upcoming games. He added:

"He's (Kohli) also coming back after a break, it's nice to see that he's come back fresh, looking forward to playing all these games. He got time to spend in the middle. Hopefully, he will kick on from here on and have a good tournament.”

Before the Asia Cup, Kohli was part of the Indian team for the tour of England. He had a disastrous outing, registering a highest score of 20 from six international innings across formats.

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“He was advising me where to eat” - Dravid’s funny response on being asked about interactions with Kohli

During the press conference, Dravid was also asked to elaborate on the kind of discussions he has been having with Kohli.

Refusing to give details, he responded politely, with a touch of humor and said:

“Bahut time lagega yaha pe yaar (That will take a lot of time). I can’t disclose discussion that happens between a player and coach with the media. It’s personal. He was advising me where to eat. He knows a lot of good places here. He keeps advising me to go to this restaurant and that restaurant.”

Kohli has an excellent T20I record. In 101 matches, he has scored 3402 runs at an average of 50.77 and a strike rate of 137.12.