Cannot teach them how to bat, says Hesson on working with Kohli

Mike Hesson, Director of Cricket Operations at Royal Challengers Bangalore, believes that it is impossible to teach a player like Virat Kohli how to bat and that it is simply a matter of adding value to what the player already understands. After joining RCB in 2019, Hesson has worked with stars like Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers.

“You’re not going to teach them how to bat, that’s the last thing you’ll do. It’s about finding a way to add value to what they already know,” Hesson remarked on the RCB Podcast about working with superstars like Kohli. Kohli, who led the RCB until the end of the previous season, has been retained by the team. The next instalment of the lucrative league will begin on March 26 in Mumbai and Pune.

“The last thing you want to do when you’re directly in competition is generating ambiguity around methods or anything like that,” Hesson, who has previously coached New Zealand, said. “So, most of our teaching or discussions are just observing for a while and then asking questions because these players are amazing for a reason. They’ve probably had ten to thirty different coaches throughout their life, all of whom have given them different pieces of advice, so they’ve come at this point with a wealth of knowledge. It’s all about adding value, according to Hesson, who is 47 years old.”

“They must have chosen this road for a purpose. Rather than thinking I have the authority to walk in and pass judgment on their game, I simply ask questions. Because they have the answers in the end, but they can’t observe themselves at the moment. They might be kinesthetic learners, which means they need to feel it, see it, or have someone tell them.” Hesson signed off by saying, “It’s just working out how that player absorbs information and how you can offer value.”