Former Indian Test opener Wasim Jaffer shared his surprise that Virat Kohli struggled to get going against spin in the three-match Test series against New Zealand, which India lost by 0-3 at home. Kohli could only score 93 runs in three Test matches at an average of 15.50 whereas he scored 99 runs in the two Test matches against Bangladesh at an average of 33.
Kohli has gone past the 50-run mark on a solitary occasion in the last 10 innings at home and hasn’t looked at his best on the crease.
“I feel Virat was probably one of the best players (against spin), considering the way I saw him playing (Saeed) Ajmal and other players at the start of his career. I am myself actually surprised that Virat is getting out like this. Obviously, it’s a loss of form,” Wasim Jaffer said on Sports Tak.
On the other hand, Rohit scored 91 runs in three Test matches against the Kiwis at an average of 15.17 whereas he could only manage 42 runs in two Test matches at an average of 10.50 against Bangladesh. Jaffer reckons it is not fair to judge Kohli and Rohit’s performances in one series.
“Even Rohit has played some incredible knocks on turning tracks. You can’t question that they don’t have the skill. It seems like it is a slight form and shot selection issue. How this series (Border-Gavaskar Trophy) goes will hold a lot of importance. They are far too great players to be judged on one series,” Jaffer observed.
Meanwhile, the former domestic giant highlighted that Indian batters have been struggling against the spinners for some time now.
“Based on what we have seen, the Indian team are struggling a little and they have been struggling for a long time. If I talk about the home series we won against Australia, that was also very tight. There I feel a few innings from Axar Patel, and (Ravindra) Jadeja and (Ravichandran) Ashwin’s partnership saved us, or else I felt we could have lost that series as well,” he replied.
Jaffer reckons the current Indian batters don’t have the same skillsets as former players like Sachin Tendulkar, VVS Laxman, Rahul Dravid, and Virender Sehwag.
“I feel that art has gone down a little, to step out and play, or playing with a big stride, or using the depth of the crease, which we used to see in Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman and obviously Sachin Tendulkar. Even Viru (Virender Sehwag) was incredible against spin. I feel the current players are slightly wanting there,” Jaffer said.
India will next take on Australia in a five-match Test series.
