Do not follow 'outrageous' Virat Kohli blindly, says Rahul Dravid

The 44-year-old Rahul Dravid said that Virat Kohli's pre-match statements made him cringe at times.

Courtesy: PTI

New Delhi: Team India skipper Virat Kohli became the fastest to reach 9000 ODI runs, taking just 194 innings, in the third and final ODI of the limited-overs series against New Zealand in Kanpur on Sunday. 

The 28-year-old broke AB de Villiers' record of being the fastest cricketer to reach the milestone, with the South African taking 205 innings.

The run machine Kohli also brought up his 32nd ODI ton and became the first captain to smash six tons in a calendar year.

And on Monday, Kohli returned to the top of the ICC ODI rankings for batsmen after logging career-high rating points, going past the iconic Sachin Tendulkar in the process.

Despite being at the top of his game, Kohli comes across as an outrageous and aggressive person, Rahul Dravid said at the Bangalore Literature Festival on Sunday. 

The 44-year-old also said that Kohli's pre-match statements made him cringe at times.

"Virat sometimes comes across as outrageous and I cringe on reading his statements before a series. But if he can bring the best out of himself by needling the opposition, so be it," Dravid said.

Although Dravid admitted that he can never be like Kohli with tattoos, he also defended the Indian captain by saying that a little bit of aggression is also needed on the pitch. He said,"We want a little bit of lip on the field."

Dravid, whose impregnable batting technique had earned him the title 'The Wall', also adviced budding cricketers not to imitate Kohli blindly.