Former India cricketer Irfan Pathan believes Indian skipper Virat Kohli’s aggressive thinking is leading to his downfall in the ongoing Test series against England. Virat Kohli averages 24.80 in five innings, scoring 124 runs so far in the series. He hit a 125-balls 55, in Leed’s Test match, however, his dismissal has been a cause of worry. The Indian skipper is getting caught behind to outside of off-stump deliveries. During an interaction on former cricketer Aakash Chopra’s Youtube Channel, Irfan Pathan stated that Virat Kohli’s dominating approach is forcing him to play deliveries outside off-stump.
He added that there is no technical deficiency, rather aggressive thinking is the issue. Pathan said:
“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.”
Former India cricketer Anjum Chopra believes that the standard that Virat Kohli has set for himself has led to his inconsistent run. Anjum Chopra said,
“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.”
Former Indian team’s batting coach, Sanjay Bangar, who has worked very closely with Virat Kohli feels that the Indian skipper needs to be patient against the English bowlers. Bangar said,
“The bottom line as far as I am concerned is that Virat Kohli has not shown the patience that England bowlers have shown against him. That was the only difference.”
“He has not got out defending a lot of times. He has gone towards the ball in all his dismissals. If you see his dismissals from 2014, he did not get out playing the drive as many times as he got out defending. I feel he is playing the sixth or seventh stump delivery, which is not required to be played,” Sanjay Bangar concluded.
