Dinesh Karthik sheds light on Virat Kohli’s dangerous habit of meddling with outside off stump line in BGT 2024-25

Former Indian wicket-keeper bat Dinesh Karthik has given his two cents on Virat Kohli’s perennial issue of fishing at deliveries, which are outside the off-stump line. Kohli’s Achilles Heel once again brough curtains to his innings on the third day of the third Test match against Australia at the Gabba, Brisbane on Monday.

The veteran was dismissed by Josh Hazlewood when he tried to go for the cover drive against a ball, which was on the seventh stump line but could only manage an outside edge to Alex Carey.

Karthik said Kohli is aware that he should be leaving balls outside the off-stump but his mind is playing a trick and that’s why he is going hard at the ball.

Dinesh Karthik said on Cricbuzz, “So, he is saying, ‘I don’t want to play anything outside the off stump. I want to leave it’. But he is so tuned to doing it and he is thinking about it so much through the day and in the night that, eventually, the moment it is thrown out there, I think his body reacts in such a way that his hands go hard at the ball. And that’s what inducing the edge.”

“If you are trying to tell me that Virat doesn’t know he shouldn’t be playing outside the off stump, I don’t think it is right. He is aware, he wants to leave it. But, as much as he is telling himself, when the game is on and he is in the middle and he is all alone, I think the mind is playing a trick, where the moment he sees it on release, his perception goes towards the ball and that is hampering him,” the 39-year-old went on to add.

Barring scoring a century at Perth, Kohli has returned with scores of 5, 7, 11, 3 in the ongoing Border-Gavaskar series against Australia.

At lunch on day four, India were 167-6, still needing another 79 runs to avoid the follow-on after Australia posted 445 runs in the first innings.