Follow UsVirat Kohli is going through a lean form in his cricket career for a while now and a century has eluded him for as long as three years. He was scratchy, to begin with in the recently-concluded Indian Premier League and failed to make any major contributions to the side. However, in Test cricket, he continued to score impactful runs - not least in South Africa earlier this year and in England, last year, but they failed to convert to three-figure scores.
Dravid dismissed notions that the owner of 27 Test hundreds is "lacking in motivation".
"As players, you go through these phases and I don't think you need motivation to be very honest with you and I think in Virat's case it is nothing to do with lack of motivation or desire," Dravid said ahead of India's rescheduled fifth Test against England starting here on Friday.
"It's not always focussing on those three figures like even a 70-odd (79) in a difficult situation in Cape Town (vs SA) was a good innings. Didn't convert into a three-figure, but it was a good score.
"Obviously, the standards that he has set, people only see hundreds as a success but for me, from a coaches' perspective, we want contributions from him -- match-winning contributions, whether it is a 50 or a 60," the coach explained.
For Dravid, Kohli, who is nearing 34, isn't on the wrong side of 30 as many would like to believe. "In my opinion, he is on right side of 30 and he is an incredibly fit guy. He is one of the most hardworking guys that I have come across and his desire and hunger and whole attitude of looking after himself,' he said.
"And his preparation, even the way he batted at Leicester, batting in those conditions and scoring the 50s and 60s, keen on playing against our bowlers, batting against Bumrah and all these guys. He is ticking all right boxes and doing everything he needs to do to come out of it," Dravid said in a reassuring tone.
India will take on England in the rescheduled fifth Test from July 1 in Birmingham - the venue where Virat Kohli scored a magnificent century four years ago to start his memorable England summer.