Indian skipper Virat Kohli has been on a lean run of form and has been under the pressure during the Test series against England. Unlike 2018, where he delivered massively with the bat, Kohli has struggled to get runs under his belt. He has amassed 124 runs in five matches so far at an average of 24.80. Although he broke a patch of recent run-droughts with a half-century in the second innings at Headingley, his batting technique continues to raise concerns.
Former Indian all-rounder Irfan Pathan, however, is of the opinion that rather than a technical flaw in his game, it his aggressive approach that has been hampering him. Talking to former Indian cricketer Aakash Chopra on his YouTube channel, Pathan said that Kohli’s forward nature is to be attributed for his poor run of form in England this time around.
“I feel more than the preparation, Virat Kohli looking to dominate is forcing him to play deliveries outside off-stump. It is just that small thing. More than technical, Virat Kohli’s aggressive thinking is causing him problems,” Pathan told Chopra during an interaction.
Former Indian Women’s Team Captain Anjum Chopra was also a part of the discussion. She too shared her opinion on Kohli’s struggles on English soil and what he can do to correct it.
“He also knows that he has to score runs. But the thing about error-free batting, that he will make a statement is putting more weight on his shoulders and maybe not allowing him to move freely. I feel he needs to bring his standard slightly lower than the error-free batting he is trying to do,” Anjum said.
Meanwhile, the former coach of the Indian women’s team WV Raman has urged Virat Kohli to lead the pack from behind for a change. Having gone over 50 international innings without a century, the pressure continues to mount on the Indian captain. Raman is confident that Kohli will get back to his best in next to no time.
“See we cannot really fault him. What can generally be the norm in life and other spheres might not apply in cricket always. I mean, what has happened is, there is a lot of pressure on Virat himself. We pay a lot of attention to everything he does. We know he is one of the best batsmen so we expect a lot from him. It’s similar to how it was with Sachin Tendulkar when he was playing. Even 95 was considered a failure,” Raman said in an interaction arranged by Sony.
“If I was Virat’s coach, I would tell him: “Virat, enough of this leading from the front. Just try and nudge the others from behind and get them to do what they can deliver. I’m sure you’ll be back at your best in no time.”
“As a leader I’ll tell him, you need to discard and forget this thing of leading from the front. Nudge others and lead from behind,” he concluded.
