New Delhi, May 12: Director General of Military Operations (DGMO) Lt. General Rajiv Ghai named Virat Kohli as his favourite cricketer, who announced his Test retirement on Monday, and also explained the efficiency of the layers of India’s air-defence grid system used to counterattack enemy drones citing a famous phrase from the 1974-75 Ashes series.

Kohli brought curtains on a glorious 14-year career, comprising 9230 runs in 123 matches at an average of 46.85.

While addressing the ongoing tension between India and Pakistan during a press briefing, Lt. General Ghai, who was joined by Director General Air Operations Air Marshal AK Bharti and Director General of Naval Operations Vice Admiral AN Pramod, used the iconic history between England and Australia’s cricketing rivalry to explain the robustness of India's air defence grid.

Citing an example from The Ashes, he recalled fast bowling greats Jeff Thomson and Dennis Lillee who were known for their fierce pace and tendency to attack the batters with aggression. The duo ran rampant during the 1974-75 Ashes and claimed 58 wickets between them as Australia won 4-1.

“Aaj shayad cricket ki baat bhi karni chahiye, kyuki mai dekh raha tha Virat Kohli ne Test cricket se retirement leli. Kayi bharatiyo ki tarah mere bhi favourite cricketer hain (Maybe today I should talk about cricket too, because I saw that Virat Kohli has retired from Test cricket. Like many Indians, he is my favourite cricketer as well.),” said Lt. General Ghai.

"In 1970's Australia and England were squaring off in the Ashes series. The Aussies had two fast bowlers Jeff Thomson and Dennis Lillee who completely destroyed the English batting line up. At that time, Australia coined a phrase - 'ashes to ashes, dust to dust, if Thommo don't get ya, Lillee surely must,” he added.

The reason behind Ghai using this particular reference was to praise India's air defence capabilities, which successfully defended against waves of drones crossing the border. Lt. General Ghai further said, "If you see the layers, you'll understand what I am trying to say. Even if you crossed all the layers, one of the layers of this grid system will hit you.”

--IANS

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