'Virat Kohli retired too early; he is a machine': Allan Donald

NEW DELHI: South African pace great Allan Donald feels Virat Kohli may have stepped away from Test cricket a bit earlier than expected, but believes the Indian batting star still has the hunger to carry on until the 2027 ODI World Cup. Donald, who shared a strong rapport with Kohli during his stint as Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s bowling coach in the IPL in 2014 and 2015, pointed to the batter’s unmatched work ethic as the reason behind his belief.


"You know, I don't think I've ever seen hunger in a player other than Virat. I've got massive respect for him. I often talk about it in the dressing rooms and chats about being a champion trainer. There's no one that trains as hard as him. He is just a machine," Donald told a select media gathering during the SA20.



“I actually miss him in the Test match arena. I think he's retired too early, but yeah, I look with no doubt we will see him in the white-ball arena in the World Cup very, very soon," he added.

Donald also spoke about South Africa’s prospects in the upcoming T20 World Cup, which will be co-hosted by India and Sri Lanka, saying the Proteas have assembled a well-balanced and competitive squad capable of performing strongly.

"It's going to be a a heck of a tournament in India, isn't it? South Africa picked a very strong squad. There might always be question marks about who's not going and who should have gone and all that kind of stuff. I think India have got the best T20 wickets on the planet. It's just so hard for any bowler and I've seen it in the IPL with scores 124 in a power play. That's just where the skill of batting has gone.

"If you can win the inches from a bowling point of view and plot your way very carefully and smartly, then, you know, it's going to come down to that again. So, I hope to see South Africa in the final as well," he said.



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