Kohli's work ethics hard to find in others: McGrath

In the first Test against England, Virat Kohli showed great temperament under pressure to single-handedly take India close to a win. Glenn McGrath, one of Australia's biggest match-winners ever, pointed out that the hard work that Kohli puts in for every game was tough to find from other players.

"I always tell the youngsters about Virat Kohli, he works harder than anyone else," began McGrath, who is here to monitor a two-day camp to pick young bowlers from Karnataka for MRF Pace Foundation.

"He didn’t get to the top by mistake. I was commentating in the Adelaide Test when India played Australia the last time there. I stayed in the same hotel as the Indian team and every morning, before the start of play, I would see Virat down in the gym getting a bit of work in. I didn’t see any other player. That's why he is the number one in the world. If it's (hard work) good enough for him, then it’s good enough for everyone. That's what I try to instill in the boys and it kind of hits home," recollected McGrath.

Kohli became the No. 1 Test batsman for the first time back on his efforts in Birmingham, another feat in a career filled with impeccable records.

India, known for a poor overseas record in the longer format, lost the first Test, and McGrath said the performance of most of the touring teams has been a big let down.

"My biggest issue is with the touring teams. When Australia goes to England or India, we don’t do well. When England went to Australia, they lost 5-0. You'd like matches to be competitive but that's not happening. It could be because of the scheduling, earlier we used to play two-three practice matches at least to get used to the conditions. Teams don’t get that much time anymore and that's just the way it is," he explained.

The former Australian pacer, director at the MRF Pace Foundation, said he was impressed with some of the young Indian pacers. "I have enjoyed working with the youngsters and I love their energy and passion for the game. We have got a few of our (from MRF Pace Foundation) boys playing for India 'A' at the moment. Khaleel Ahmed, Prasidh Krishna and Ankit Rajpoot are in India 'A' teams for the upcoming quadrangular series."

The 48-year-old was particularly impressed with Ankit. "I have been a big fan of his bowling. I think he has got the potential to go on to represent India and be a quality bowler for a long time. I like his attitude, the way he goes about it and the areas that he bowls, he has got big strong legs," he noted.