Kohli is repeating his mistake: VVS points out flaw in Indian captain’s technique

India head into the fourth Test against England on the back of an innings and 76 runs defeat at Headingley and at least one major unresolved issue: their captain’s form. Virat Kohli’s last international ton came in November 2019 and since then, the 32-year-old has struggled somewhat. He averaged only 19.33 in Tests in 2020 and currently averages 27.15 in this calendar year.

Step forward VVS Laxman, who knows a thing or two about turning around a Test and a series (remember the miracle in Kolkata against Australia?).

The former India batsman has said that Kohli is repeating the same mistake of playing outside the off stump line. The right-hander has already been caught behind multiple times and seems to be struggling with leaving the ball outside off stump.

“I thought India would post a big score in the second innings at Headingley when the second new ball was taken, especially with the way Pujara and Virat Kohli were batting.

Also read: What India needs most from captain Kohli is runs

“However, Kohli is repeating his mistake of playing the line outside off stump away from his body and he will need to work on that. There is not much time left before the next Test and this is the challenge of international cricket,” Laxman said.

Laxman isn’t the only expert to have pointed out this flaw. Sanjay Bangar, India’s former batting coach, also believes that Kohli has failed to show patience.

“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,” Bangar said in a video uploaded on ex-cricketer Aakash Chopra’s YouTube channel.

“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. He needs to check his position when the ball gets released,” he said.

Kohli has only scored 124 runs in the first three Tests and with the series locked at 1-1, one big innings could help India bounce back at the Kennington Oval, where action begins on Thursday.