Virat Kohli let down by shot selection in England: says Sunil Gavaskar
Legendary Indian batsman Sunil Gavaskar has urged captain Virat Kohli to be simple and not worry about playing and missing deliveries in order to succeed in England.
Kohli hit a fifty in the 2nd innings of the 3rd Test against England at Headingley on Saturday but it was not enough as India lost by an innings and 76 runs inside 3 and half days.
Virat Kohli has gotten out as many as 5 times in the 3 Tests in England so far but edging the ball to the wicketkeeper or the slip cordon. The India captain has endured a lean patch, managing just 124 runs in 5 innings – a stark contrast to his form in 2018 wherein he hit 3 hundreds in the Old Blighty.
Sunil Gavaskar believes there is no issue with Virat Kohli standing outside the crease but it’s his “intent” to play at all deliveries and ignore the basics of not playing with hard hands that have been his undoing so far.
Kohli got out for just 7 runs in the first innings of the Headingley Test wherein India were bundled out for 78, their third-lowest total in England. Kohli tried to drive James Anderson and only managed to nick it to wicketkeeper Jos Buttler. in the second innings, Kohli and Cheteshwar Pujara stitched a crucial stand but the India skipper fell right after getting to a fifty, poking at a delivery outside the off-stump.
“I think it’s the shot selection. You have got to keep it simple. He has got 8000 runs, probably the last 6,500 runs he has got standing outside the crease. So I don’t think he needs to make too many changes. I think it’s just the shot selection,” Sunil Gavaskar told Sony Sports.
“At the moment, we talk about intent. There is ‘intent’ question against Pujara. Here it seems the intent is to get runs. It means there are deliveries you’re playing when you should be leaving those.
So it’s basically again a question of shot selection. You don’t have to play at those deliveries. If you leave those deliveries, it’s not going to matter. You still had a day to go and yu were 140 runs behind the England team. If you have a look, these are deliveries on the 4th stump, there are no complaints. But there are deliveries at the 5th, 6th stump. These are deliveries he should not be playing.”
Play closer to your body: Gavaskar tells Kohli
Gavaskar stressed that Kohli should understand there is no harm in playing and missing and even the best of the batsmen do get beaten in difficult conditions like England.
“See how far from the body the bat is, that is what is getting him intro trouble. He is reaching out. So it’s hard hands stuff that is getting into trouble. I don’t think standing outside the crease is a worry. If you play closer to your body, you play and miss it. There is no harm in playing and missing it,” Gavaskar said.
India went 1-0 up after a stunning win at Lord’s in the 2nd Test but they have been brought down to earth after the innings defeat in the 3rd Test. With their backs against the wall, the visitors will be looking to script a comeback when the two sides meet in the 4th Test at Oval in London from Thursday, September 2.
