"I don't remember when I have seen such a Virat Kohli earlier" - Aakash Chopra on the former captain's knock in the 1st India vs West Indies ODI
Aakash Chopra has highlighted that Virat Kohli was not his usual self with the bat in the first ODI against West Indies.
Kohli scored eight runs off four deliveries, which included a couple of boundaries. He seemed to be in a hurry and hooked Alzarri Joseph straight down the long leg fielder's throat to be dismissed.
While reviewing the match in a video shared on his YouTube channel, Aakash Chopra was concerned by Kohli's approach. He said:
"It is a problem. I don't remember when I have seen such a Virat Kohli earlier, who hits two fours, then a shot and then out, that's it. This is not what we have seen with Kohli."
The former India cricketer pointed out that Kohli's batting was in stark contrast to his approach in the ODIs against South Africa. Chopra elaborated:
"Virat is a process-driven person. He is the product of a process and discipline, that I have to play like this only. We were discussing in South Africa also repeatedly that he is not looking the same player, which is absolutely fine, but he was scoring ugly runs."
Kohli scored a couple of half-centuries in the three ODIs against the Proteas. Although he was not at his fluent best, he was willing to grind it out in the middle.
"A very strange kind of knock from Virat Kohli" - Aakash Chopra
Aakash Chopra highlighted that the knock in the first ODI against the Windies was not from Kohli's book of batsmanship. He explained:
"Here the four balls on this pitch, the sort of shots he played, taking on the bowlers, first over point and then on the leg side, it was a very bizarre knock, a very strange kind of knock from Virat Kohli."
Virat Kohli played like West Indies against West Indies. #INDvsWI
The reputed commentator concluded by saying that the former India skipper might not be in the right frame of mind at the moment. Chopra observed:
"It tells you that the mindset is probably not at the right place. Sometimes it happens with all of us, it is probably happening with him at the moment."
Kohli has gone through a turbulent phase over the last few months, with him no longer being the captain in all three formats and a few differences with the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) coming to the fore. Some time away from the game could probably do him a world of good.