New Zealand vs India 2020: Inzamam-ul-Haq defends Virat Kohli; says he is 'amazed' by the criticism
Former Pakistan captain Inzamam-ul-Haq has defended under-fire batsman Virat Kohli, saying the India captain is just going through a lean patch with the bat. Kohli had a forgettable Test series, both as a leading batsman and skipper of the visiting side.
New Zealand sealed the Test series 2-0 and the no.1 side in the world was beaten comprehensively. Kohli was a big flop and averaged just 9.50 with the bat. Scores of 2,19,3, and 14 have made him face a lot of flak from the critics.
Inzamam backed Kohli and addressed the criticism on his YouTube channel, saying:
"A lot of people are talking about Kohli's technique and so on. I am amazed by all this talk. He has scored 70 centuries in international cricket, how can you question his technique."
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Inzamam went ahead and cited the example of his former colleague Mohammad Yousuf, who was one of the most successful batsmen for Pakistan. The 49-year-old also said Kohli doesn't need to make changes to his technique.
"As a cricketer, I can say that players will encounter a phase when despite his best efforts, runs do not come. (Mohammad) Yusuf had a high backlift, it used to come from gully. When his bad form came, people started questioning his technique. When he came to me, I asked him how did you score so many runs with the same technique?
This was Kohli's second-worst performance in a series with the bat. The 31-year-old cricketer's worst stats have come against Australia at home back in the 2016-17 series, where he averaged 9.20 with the willow.