Former India cricketer VVS Laxman said the Indian batsmen struggling to deal with spin has become a pattern these days after Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma were both dismissed by spinners in the third ODI against England on Sunday. Kohli’s struggles against spin have been left exposed in the last couple of years as the Indian captain has found it hard to get going against the turners in white-ball cricket.
On Sunday, Kohli was once again dismissed cheaply by England spinner Moeen Ali after scoring only 7 runs off ten balls in the series-decider in Pune. Kohli, who had earlier been dismissed by spinner Adil Rashid in the second ODI, saw his stumps getting castled by Moeen in the second ODI. Rohit, on the other hand, was bowled by Rashid after scoring 37 off 37 deliveries.
In the recent past, both Kohli and Rohit have often been dismissed by spinners in white-ball cricket, which is a cause of concern for Team India, as per Laxman. Kohli has been dismissed nine times each by Moeen and Rashid in international cricket. Only New Zealand’s Tim Southee (10) has dismissed the Indian skipper more times in international cricket.
“The dismissal of KL Rahul was really unfortunate but then both Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma will be disappointed when they see their dismissal in the replay. This has almost become a pattern against the spinners,” Laxman said on Star Sports.
“Rohit not being able to read the googly against Adil Rashid. And then Virat Kohli looked to play through the off-side against the turn, giving himself room and then missing it. It’s definitely a cause of concern because Indian players are supposed to be excellent batsmen against spin bowling,” he added.
