Zol, captaining India U19 squad at the ICC World Cup, says he has been following Kohli's game since the Delhi batsman's U19 days and hopes to implement his style.
"I am not an aggressive player like Virat. I've been following Virat's game since his U19 days and I would like to replicate his attacking game," Zol told Mirror on Friday at Chinnaswamy Stadium, ahead of team's departure to UAE.
Zol has never played under Kohil's captaincy. "Just to be a part of the team and interact with Kohli was like a dream come true for me and there's a lot that I got to learn from him. He is one captain who inspires me a lot," added an upbeat Zol.
The present squad has four major tournament wins to their credit since the team came together in July last year. They beat hosts Australia in Top End Series in Darwin, followed by a bilateral one-day series in Sri Lanka which India won 2-0.
There was a quadrangular tournament in Vizag, with South Africa, Australia and Zimbabwe. India beat South Africa in the final before heading to Asia Cup. Zol believes this team has the potential to defend the World Cup title.
"We were more nervous in the previous World Cup," he said. "This time we are carrying a lot of confidence from our previous games.
He believes the conditions in the UAE will suit India's game more than it did in Australia two years ago. "The pitches there didn't have much help for pacers during Asia Cup. It was a batting paradise," he said.
The team had a three-day boot camp in the jungles of Waynad in Kerala. There, they were made to rappel (climb down a 60 feet rock), walk into the jungle blind folded and shoot movies on the theme of ICC U19 World Cup.
"This boot camp was more about team building. It's important for the players to trust their leader and that's why they were sent on trust-walks where they were blind folded and the leader was made to walk the team through the distance only by making noises and not talking," coach Bharat Arun said.
Though Pakistan has a formidable team, the Under-19 players believe they have an edge over their arch nemesis. In the recent U19 Asia Cup, India beat Pakistan to lift the title.
"We have played four other tournaments in which we have done well. Pakistan is a good side but playing them will be no different from playing any other team," said Zol. Interestingly, Bharat Arun revealed they also watched a lot of videos featuring England. Raising the bar in fielding was the other challenge, he said.
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