Despite India comprehensively beating Bangladesh in the opening match, there are questions regarding Virat Kohli. The star studded batter once again fell prey to a leg spinner Rishad Hossain and was dismissed on 22 runs in 38 balls and struck 1 four. Virat Kohli was looking a bit tentative from the start which was quite unlike.
The batting unit doesn’t seem to be entirely dependent on Rohit Sharma & Virat Kohli as Shubman Gill smashed a calm & composed ton. Shubman Gill now has struck 2 back to back tons & is looking ominous. The Men in Blue don’t seem to have a significant weakness in their team as it was a near perfect day against Bangladesh.
Virat Kohli gets out as soon as a leg spinner comes- Aakash Chopra
Aakash Chopra was seen speaking on his You-Tube channel. Aakash Chopra pointed out that Virat Kohli is a bit clueless when a leg spinner is operating. The former cricketer stated that he is quite speechless given the struggles of Virat Kohli against leg spinners & said even when Virat Kohli smashed a half century against England in 3rd ODI he wasn’t at his best.
“It has become a ruckus now. Whether the name is Rashid or Rishad, if he is a leg-spinner, he would get him (Kohli) out. He will dismiss him on the front foot at times and on the back foot on other occasions. It’s not a good story. It’s not a good look,” said Aakash Chopra.
“He gets out as soon as a leg-spinner comes. I will be very honest, the way he was batting, it didn’t seem like he has hit top gear. When he scored a fifty in the last match, the one in Ahmedabad, then also it didn’t seem like he had hit top gear,” he stated.
“Here also, when he came to bat, he scored his first run off probably his ninth or tenth ball. After that also, it didn’t seem like the ball was hitting the middle of his bat. Many balls hit the bat’s inside edge. He was reading the length okay but the batting wasn’t like Kohli’s Virat avatar,” he added.
“I don’t know what is happening against leg spinners. He has gotten out while defending, driving, and got out while playing the cut today (Thursday). I don’t have an answer. He is getting out to spinners when the ball is leaving him – leg spin or left-arm spin. There is a problem. The improvement starts only when you accept the truth,” he concluded.
Virat Kohli’s form a bit concern
India’s next match is against their arch-rivals Pakistan on 23rd February at Dubai, the same ground where Bangladesh game was played. Pakistan have a lone premier spinner in the form of Abrar Ahmed who is quite a rookie. It would be fascinating to see whether Abrar Ahmed can take a leaf out of Rishad Hossain’s spin bowling to dismiss Virat Kohli in a high octane clash.
Virat Kohli perhaps needs to allow the bowlers to settle in irrespective of the game situation. The star batter thrives on challenges, we should not forget that Virat has struck 3 tons & 2 half centuries against Pakistan in ODI format. The last time Virat Kohli played against Pakistan in ICC CT 2017, his outing with bat was quite forgettable and would be keen to settle the score.