Mohammad Azharuddin believes Virat Kohli could struggle against the moving ball

Azhar expressed hope that Kohli would work on improving his game against spin bowling

Former India skipper Mohammad Azharuddin believes current Indian Test skipper Virat Kohli could be susceptible against swing bowling and advised the 27-year-old to be mentally prepared to face tough questions when performances of the team and himself as a player are not necessarily going according to plan. 

Kohli is presently in the form of his life having thrived in all formats of the year in 2016 and has started off his captaincy on a bright note with the home Test series victory against South Africa last year and the away Test series victory over Sri Lanka and now West Indies earning him considerable plaudits from various quarters.

Azharuddin, one of India’s most successful and longest serving skipper across many stints, admits that Kohli is going through a wonderful phase in his career but also warned him of not getting too carried away as the very same fans who are cheering for him now could turn against him should the team falter.  

“If you win, nobody talks bad. But the moment you start losing, you should be ready for everything. You have to accept that and move forward,” Azharuddin said. “It has always been like this from my time or even before that. I never complained about the media scrutiny. Sometimes it goes out of hands from both sides. The best thing is not to take too much pressure and concentrate on the job.”

Kohli’s outstanding run of form has resulted in many former cricketers already labelling him as a legend of the game amid belief that he could go on to break many records during his time. Azhar, though feels that there is one area where Kohli should improve upon should he really hope to achieve greatness, referring to Kohli’s loss of form during India’s tour of England in 2014 where he struggled against genuine swing bowling.  

“Everyone has a flaw. Every batsman has a weakness when the ball swings. From what I have seen as a player, there are chances that Virat Kohli might struggle against the moving ball. I hope that doesn’t happen,” Azhar said. 

The 53-year-old also revealed how he had advised Pakistan veteran Younis Khan to change his stance stating that the latter was “batting like a joker”and expressed satisfaction that the advice was well-taken as Younis went on to score a match-winning double century at the Oval against England. 

“He (Younis) was playing like a joker and I did tell this to him. I told him ‘for someone who score more than 30 centuries in Tests, you can’t play cricket like this,” said Azhar. “So, I told him that’s not how you play swing bowling. The important thing was he was willing to listen and work on the problem.”