“He still has the hunger to be the best in the world” – Gautam Gambhir on Virat Kohli ahead of IND vs BAN 2024 Test series

India’s head coach Gautam Gambhir reckons Virat Kohli still has the hunger to be the best in the world ahead of the opening Test match against Bangladesh. Kohli has performed consistently across all three formats of the game and has delivered in the last 15 years at the top level.

Kohli needs 58 runs to complete 27000 International runs across formats. Kohli has scored 26942 runs in 591 innings and he is all set to become the fastest to the milestone. The talisman also needs 152 runs to reach the 9000-run mark in Test cricket.

“The most important thing which I saw in him is that he still has the hunger to be the best in the world, and the way he trains, whether it be in the nets or the gym as well. He trains like how a professional athlete or one of the best in the world should train, and that is what is important,” Gautam Gambhir said on JioCinema.

The former Indian opener also showered praise on Kohli’s preparation for the Bangladesh series.

“For me, from Virat’s point of view, that hunger needs to be there, and I can see that hunger when we look forward to the next 10 Test matches. But more importantly, the way he has prepared himself for the Bangladesh series, I think it’s very, very important. Once he gets into that frame of mind, once he gets into that groove, we know what he can do, what he has done for so many years,” Gambhir added.

Gambhir also shed light on the upcoming tour of Australia. Kohli has scored 2042 runs in 25 Test matches against Australia at an average of 47.48, including eight centuries. Kohli has even better numbers while playing in Australia as he has scored 1352 runs in 13 Test matches at an impressive average of 54.08, including six centuries.

“Obviously, what better for him than having the Australia tour coming up because I am sure he loves playing in Australia. That’s for most of the guys as well. They want to try and still be the best, whether it’s Virat Kohli, (Ravichandran) Ashwin or (Ravindra) Jadeja. They still have that hunger, which is a great thing,” he said.

The opening Test match between India and Bangladesh will be played at the Chepauk Stadium, Chennai from September 19.