Virat Kohli has never been to NCA for fitness issues: Rohit Sharma lauds star batter's work ethic
Hyderabad, Jan 28: Virat Kohli has hardly ever set foot at the Bengaluru-based National Cricket Academy for any fitness-related rehabilitation work, said Indian skipper Rohit Sharma, who wants aspiring cricketers to follow the ace batter's exemplary work-ethic.
"Virat Kohli has never been to NCA in his entire career. I would say that all the younger players should look up to the passion that he has," Rohit told former India wicketkeeper Dinesh Karthik on JioCinema.
"Leave alone how he plays the cover drive, flick, cut but first things first you have to understand what is the quality of the players that makes him where he is today."
Kohli has opted out of the first two Tests of the ongoing five-match series against England for "personal reasons".
"I have watched Kohli enough. He can easily be satisfied with what he has achieved. He can say that I will take it easy in these 2-3 series, I will come later, but he is always there for the team," said Rohit.
Staying hungry
The Indian skipper further emphasised the invaluable quality of hunger and the lack of complacency in Kohli's mindset, expressing that such attributes cannot be imparted through teaching.
He stressed the need for aspiring cricketers to learn this internal drive by observing others.
"That mindset of being hungry and not complacent cannot be taught. You have to learn that from by looking at the others. It has to come from within. I cannot teach you that," Rohit added.
"That is the first thing that I would say rather than looking at Virat Kohli or others technically. You have to stay hungry all the time, bring the passion and the pride to everything, being out there in the sun, playing for the team and getting the job done. This is what I want to the guys to have first," the Indian skipper concluded.
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Savarkar remarks: Rahul Gandhi appears in Pune court via video link in defamation case, gets bail
Pune, Jan 10: A special court in Pune on Friday granted bail to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi in a defamation case related to his alleged objectionable remarks on Hindutva ideologue V D Savarkar.
The MP/MLA court granted bail to the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha on a surety bond of Rs 25,000 after he appeared before it through video conferencing, his lawyer said.
Senior Congress leader Mohan Joshi stood as surety for Gandhi (54) before the court presided over by Amol Shinde, judicial magistrate (first class) and special judge for MP/MLA cases.
Advocate Milind Pawar, representing Gandhi, said soon after his client appeared before the court, they moved a bail application.
The judge allowed the plea and granted bail to the former Congress president on a surety bond of Rs 25000, he informed.
The advocate said the court also granted permanent exemption to the Lok Sabha MP from Rae Bareli from appearing before it.
The case was filed on a complaint by V D Savarkar's grandnephew Satyaki, who alleged Gandhi had made defamatory remarks against the Hindutva icon at a programme he attended in London in March 2023.
Earlier, advocate Sangram Kolhatkar, representing Satyaki Savarkar, objected to Gandhi's application seeking virtual appearance.
There was no provision that allows an accused to appear in court through video conferencing before securing bail, Kolhatkar argued.
The court, however, permitted Gandhi to attend the proceedings online.
Wearing a bottle green sweater, the Congress MP appeared before the court and stated his name when the judge asked for it.
The matter will be next heard on February 18.
As per the complaint, Gandhi, while speaking at the London event, stated that Savarkar had written in a book that he and five to six of his friends once beat up a Muslim man and he (Savarkar) felt happy.
According to the complaint, the freedom fighter had not written this anywhere and the Congress leader's remarks were aimed at defaming him.
At the time, the court had asked the Pune police to investigate the allegations and file a report.
The Vishrambaug police, after an inquiry, submitted that there was prima facie truth in the complaint.
Gandhi had skipped the previous court appearance on December 2 citing the winter session of Parliament which he was attending.
His lawyer Pawar had then assured that the opposition parliamentarian will appear in the court on January 10.
