Former Indian assistant coach Abhishek Nayar has heaped praise on Virat Kohli for batting fearlessly in the recent past. After getting dismissed for a low score of five runs in the series opener, Kohli scored an impressive knock of 65 runs off 66 balls in the second ODI against England at Sophia Gardens, Cardiff on Thursday.

The veteran batter was able to hit the ground running and took the attack against the English bowlers. Kohli has all the experience under his belt and he is going to hold the key for the team in the ODI World Cup 2027.

“One thing that I have liked about him in this series and the recent past is that he is playing fearlessly. It is no longer that Virat, where he is only looking for singles. There are certain tactical nuances picked up which is very unique. He is being very intelligent with the way he wants to take bowlers down. Not necessarily by hitting shots, but also by using the crease,” Abhishek Nayar said on Star Sports show Game Plan.

Nayar said Kohli is in a great space as he is batting at the top of his game in the ODI format.

“He is in a great space, and looking at his body language, you feel like there is a free-flowing, non-apologetic, non-caring sort of batter batting and that is when you are most dangerous, when there is nothing to prove. And you can see that in Virat Kohli. How many times have you seen him step out and take a fast bowler down when the ball is seaming? No. Normally, he buys his time. So he is in a great space. If he is going, he will not be concerned who he is playing against.”

Earlier, Kohli scored 675 runs in 16 matches of IPL 2026 and played a key role in taking Royal Challengers Bengaluru to glory. He scored a match-winning knock of 75 runs off 42 balls in the summit clash against Gujarat Titans.