Watch: Virat Kohli interacts with young cricketers in Bengaluru, gives signed bat

Star batter Virat Kohli was seen interacting with youngsters at the Chinnaswamy stadium in Bengaluru ahead of the first Test against New Zealand, starting on October 16, Wednesday. Kohli will be key in the series for India as they prep for the Australia tour.

In Short

• Kohli was seen in the nets on Monday
• The star batter had long chats with the young players in Bengaluru
• Kohli has played 3 Tests in 2024 so far

Virat Kohli surely made it the day for some of the young cricketers in Bengaluru ahead of the first Test between India and New Zealand, starting from October 16, Wednesday. Kohli was part of the Indian training session on Tuesday, where the star batter was seen in the nets. The Tests against New Zealand will be the final ones before India head off to Australia for the Border Gavaskar Trophy.

Kohli on Monday was seen interacting with young cricketers and sharing his wisdom with them. The Indian star was seen having long discussions with the players at the Chinnaswamy stadium before the match. Kohli was also gracious to provide a cricketer with autographed bats as well. You can see the full video below:

Gambhir backs Kohli to succeed

Head coach Gautam Gambhir expressed confidence in Virat Kohli's ability to deliver big runs in the upcoming Test series against New Zealand and carry that momentum into India's series against Australia. With India set to play eight Test matches over the next three months, Gambhir highlighted Kohli's determination to excel and regain his peak form in Test cricket, emphasising the star batter's hunger to contribute to the team's success in the longest format.

"See, my thoughts about Virat have always been very clear. He is a world-class cricketer. He has performed for such a long time. He is as hungry as when he made his debut," Gautam Gambhir said.

"I remember opening the batting with him when he made his debut in Sri Lanka to now, his hunger is always there. That’s what makes him a world-class cricketer. I am sure he will be hungry to get runs in this series, and probably moving forward to Australia as well. Once he gets into the run-scoring form, how consistent he can be. He will be looking forward to these three Tests and the series in Australia," he added.

In 2024, Kohli has featured in only three Test matches and is still searching for his first fifty-plus score of the year. During the series against Bangladesh, he registered scores of 6, 17, 47, and an unbeaten 29 across four innings. Notably, Kohli’s quickfire 47 off 35 balls came in the first innings of the Kanpur Test, where India went on to break several records.