“He played very well in the last match [against Hong Kong], and we are happy with his performance,” Dravid said. “He is also coming back after a gap of almost a month. It’s nice to the see that he has come back fresh and that he is looking forward to playing every game. Not that he wasn’t looking forward to playing every game earlier.”
“Sometimes with Virat, he is just one of those guys who is always on,” Dravid said. “It’s not that earlier he was not. It’s nice, I’m glad he has had that opportunity to take a break, come back refreshed and relaxed. He’s got a chance to be out in the middle, spend some time in the middle. Hopefully from here he can kick on have a really good tournament.”
Dravid emphasised on how, for the team management, it was about looking at Kohli’s performances through a prism that doesn’t always lay all the emphasis on big scores. “For us, it’s not really about looking at how many runs he makes. I know that especially with Virat people get a bit obsessed with his statistics and his numbers.
“For us, it’s about the contributions he can make in different phases in the game and what the contribution is. It doesn’t have to be in fifties or hundreds or a stat. Even small contributions mean a lot in T20 cricket, what is the role of a player and what the team needs. Virat is very keen in putting in big performances. Hopefully he can keep doing that in the tournament.”