Former Indian batter Mohammad Kaif said Virat Kohli is not in his batting zone at the moment after he failed to deliver in the opening ODI against Australia at the Optus Stadium, Perth, on Sunday. After playing seven dot balls on the bounce, Kohli went for an expensive cover drive against Mitchell Starc but was caught brilliantly by Cooper Connolly for a blob.

Kohli was playing professional cricket after a long break and could not get going. Kaif highlighted that Kohli wasn’t batting with rhythm as he looked far from his usual best. The right-hander looked tentative at the crease and his perennial issue of meddling with sixth-stump delivery continued.

Kaif said on his YouTube Channel, “A player is only good till he has his rhythm, batting form, playing games regularly. Eyes are sharp, playing games every second or third day. When that happens, the player finds out from the hand whether the ball is in-swing or out-swing. Or whether it’s a yorker or a slower one. So, the ability to pick that is possible when you are playing regularly… You are in your batting zone.”

 “Virat Kohli is not in his batting zone at the moment, clearly… There was a lack of rhythm, and he was out of touch, so that’s why he got out in the last match,” he added.

Meanwhile, Australia will have the services of leg-spinner Adam Zampa at their disposal for the second ODI and the leg-spinner has troubled Kohli in the past.

“Zampa will also be playing in the second match; he will be making a comeback… He has a good record against India, having gotten Virat Kohli out on many occasions. In my view, Australia have become a stronger team in this game as compared to the previous one… How do you play after the first spell? Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma can score big, but they need to spend some time on the crease.”

The second ODI between India and Australia will be played at the Adelaide Oval on Thursday.