Conversation with Kohli helped my game – Blackwood

West Indies middle-order batsman Jermaine Blackwood says a conversation with India captain Virat Kohli a couple of years ago helped to revolutionise his game, which has now begun to bear fruit.

Blackwood and the West Indies are currently in Bangladesh preparing for the two-Test series, and the current vice-captain recounted the valuable conversation he had with the Indian batting maestro Kohli, which has completely changed his game.

Blackwood enters the series as the regional side’s most prolific batsman, having scored 427 runs in five Test matches last year, including one century and three half-centuries.

It was his best return with the bat since his 2015 exploits with the West Indies, where he scored 616 runs in 10 Tests.

Having been out of the West Indies team for three years, Blackwood said that a total reboot of his mental and physical approach to the game has brought about some positive changes, however, it was the chat with Kohli back in 2019 that was the catalyst for the improved numbers.

“After the game in Jamaica, I had a smart conversation with him (Kohli), and I asked him how all the time I have a lot of half-centuries, but only one century. And he just said, ‘What do you do when you scored the century? How many deliveries did you face?’ I said I faced 212 balls, and he said, ‘That’s it! Once you can bat some balls, you’re going to score runs’, so I took a big thing from that,” said Blackwood.

Blackwood said that he would be taking that same approach into the Test series against Bangladesh and would continue to play the same positive, aggressive cricket, which brought him some success last season.

“I had a very good 2020 outing with the last series against England and New Zealand, but this is 2021, and it’s a new year, so I have to put 2020 behind me and try to focus as much as possible on what’s ahead.”

With a spin barrage expected to greet the West Indies team in Chattogram, Blackwood said that the team has been working assiduously to nullify that threat and put up a better showing with the bat.

CARRY THE MANTLE

The diminutive right-hander acknowledges that he will have to carry the mantle in the batting department, with several senior players opting out of the tour.

He was quick to add that the team has been putting in a lot of work during the three weeks they have been in Bangladesh, and he is confident that the regional side will give a good account of themselves, starting with the first Test next week.

“I can see the work and the determination from the batsmen in the weeks that we have been here. We have worked a lot on sweeping and rotation of strike. I can see the positives, and I know for sure in the Test match, you guys are going to see (good things).”

“These guys here are hungry for runs, and I am confident that we are going to score runs both off the spin and the pace bowlers,” added Blackwood.

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