Chennai, Sep 21 (IANS) Former India head coach Ravi Shastri believes star batsman Virat Kohli should not be afraid to use his feet and play aerial shots against spinners while batting.
Ravi Shastri's comment came after Kohli lost his wicket to spinner Mehdi Hasan Miraz in the second innings of the ongoing first Test against Bangladesh at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on Friday.
Kohli, who was looking in good rhythm, got caught in the spin web and gifted his wicket to Bangladesh. Virat Kohli was out after scoring 17 runs but when the replay was seen, the ball took the edge of his bat before hitting the pad. However, Virat did not take DRS.
“He has been dismissed many times by spinners in the last 2-3 years. But he has also scored a lot of runs. You would like to see him use his feet. Come to the pitch of the ball, maybe use a sweep. You can do something different or new to trouble the spinners, rather than letting them put pressure on you. That's what he did when he scored a lot of runs,” Shastri said during match commentary.
Kohli, who scored just six runs in the first innings, has been struggling to score runs on home soil in Test cricket for the last two years. The former captain has scored just one century in the last six Tests in India. However, his last Test century came against the West Indies in Port of Spain last year.
Since 2021, Kohli has played 14 Test matches in Asia, scoring 654 runs in 23 innings at an average of 29.72 with one century and two half-centuries.
His Test form during this period was not very good, in which he scored only 1,669 runs in 51 innings with 8 half-centuries and two centuries at an average of 32.72.
–IANS
AMJ/RR
Comments are closed.