"It seems someone is forcing him to go and hit" - Ajay Jadeja on Virat Kohli's dismissal in 2nd India vs England T20I
Ajay Jadeja has pointed out that Virat Kohli's mode of dismissal in the second T20I against England suggests the former India captain is being forced to take the aggressive route from the outset.
Kohli managed just one run in the second game of the three-match series on Saturday, July 9. He tried to play a big shot off just the third delivery he faced but only ended up skying the ball to Dawid Malan, who took an excellent catch running back from point.
While reviewing the game during a discussion on Sony Sports, Jadeja said about Kohli's dismissal:
"The way we saw Virat Kohli today, it seems someone is forcing him to go and hit, we have not seen this for 15 years. If someone is watching cricket for so many years and the success and greatness Virat has, if you have seen for 10-15 years, then it was shocking. I have never seen that in so many years."
The former Indian opener highlighted the excellent record Kohli enjoys in T20I cricket without resorting to pyrotechnics. Jadeja explained:
"There is nothing wrong in playing aggressively, but if I show you the numbers, Virat Kohli has an average of 51 in this (T20Is) and he has a strike rate of around 137. Others might have a strike rate of 140-odd, but none of the others have an average of even 20 runs close to him."
Virat Kohli is caught looking for a big shot. Virender Sehwag on commentary "paise aur gaind dekh ke urranay chahyain." 😂
Kohli has amassed 3297 runs at an outstanding average of 50.72 and an equally impressive strike rate of 137.54 in 98 T20Is thus far.
"You need players like Virat Kohli also" - Ashish Nehra
Ashish Nehra pointed out that Team India need players like Kohli to complement the big-hitters in the lineup. He elaborated:
"If you are talking about strike rate, all players around you - Ishan Kishan, Rishabh Pant, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Dinesh Karthik - they have a different way of playing. You need players like Virat Kohli also in between."
The former India pacer added that Kohli can up his strike rate once he spends enough time in the middle. Nehra observed:
"You don't need a strike rate of 145-150 every time, and this player, if he stands at the pitch, also shows a strike rate of 175-200 at the end. Virat, if he is there in the team, no one needs to tell him how he needs to play."
3 years back no one would have thought that Virat Kohli will go through such phase. Sachin, Saurav, Dravid all had bad phases but this VK patch of failure is now getting bit over stretched. Just wishing that he gets his mojo back prior to T20 World Cup.
Nehra concluded by pointing out that it's difficult for any player to start their innings in fifth gear, even more so for a player like Kohli, as he's not used to doing so.