Former Indian all-rounder Irfan Pathan believes Virat Kohli is not struggling technically but his aggressive thinking is causing him problems.
Kohli is always known to be aggressive in his approach but he has found it difficult to get going with the bat in the ongoing series.
The Indian captain has been troubled with the outside off-stump line consistently by James Anderson and Ollie Robinson as both of them have got the ball to swing away from the right-hander. Kohli hasn’t been patient enough to leave those balls on the fifth-sixth stump line and has been dismissed while trying to meddle with the outside off-stump deliveries.
The talisman is always known to dictate the terms to the opposition and he tries his best to mean business as soon as he arrives at the crease. However, things haven’t gone Kohli’s way in this series as he has managed only 124 runs in three Test matches at a paltry average of 24.80.
Irfan Pathan said while talking to Aakash Chopra on latter’s YouTube Channel, “”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.”
On the other hand, former Indian women team captain Anjum Chopra reckons Kohli is putting more pressure on his shoulders as he desperately wants to make a statement.
She 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.”
Meanwhile, India’s former batting coach Sanjay Bangar reckons Virat Kohli hasn’t shown the same patience which the England bowlers have shown while bowling against him.
“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.”
The fourth Test match will take place at the Oval from Thursday.
