Anil Kumble says Virat Kohli is trying too hard, wants batter to adopt a calm approach in Champions Trophy

Former Indian head coach and leg-spinner Anil Kumble feels Virat Kohli is trying too hard, which is putting pressure on him. Kumble wants Kohli to not overthink and adopt a calm approach in the middle. The talisman was dismissed after scoring 22 runs off 38 balls in the Champions Trophy clash against Bangladesh at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Dubai on Thursday.

Kohli was dismissed by Bangladesh’s leg-spinner Rishad Hossain when he tried to play a cut short but ballooned the ball to the backward point fielder. The right-hander got off to a slow start against the Bangladesh spinners as the pitch was sluggish but he could not convert his score into a substantial one.

“I feel he is trying a bit too hard. When you have that kind of pressure, and when you have that kind of expectations, you suddenly sort of start putting undue importance to all of that, and try hard to do well. When you do that, you are not really relaxed,” Kumble said on ESPN Cricinfo.

“I think he is trying too hard, you can see it in the way he is going about his innings. He just needs to not worry about it. He just needs to come in, and not worry about anything else,” he added.

Kumble noted that the batter needs to be confident while starting his wicket on a sluggish wicket like Dubai but Kohli was putting himself under pressure.

“To start off against spin, on that kind of a surface, you need a lot of confidence. He is certainly trying too hard to maneuver that. He is a good player of spin when he is in form,” Kumble said (as per the aforementioned source).

“I get a feeling watching him bat, I think he is putting a lot more pressure on himself, so he just needs to relax a little bit. Not worry too much about the outcome of what is happening on the field,” he concluded.

India will next take on arch-rivals Pakistan at Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Dubai on Sunday.