"Kohli is a typical Asian player" - Aaqib Javed comments on the Indian captain's struggles
Former Pakistan cricketer Aaqib Javed has commented on Virat Kohli's struggles in recent times. He also mentions how the Indian captain's batting style makes him vulnerable against the moving ball.
The former quick expressed his opinion in a conversation with Paktv.tv's YouTube channel and said:
"Kohli is a typical Asian player, he can be successful in Australia. But in places like England and South Africa or anywhere where the ball swings or seams, he'll chase the ball it as he's vulnerable against the controlled outswing."
The Team India captain has been going through a prolonged barren patch that has seen him go 50 innings without an international century. Virat Kohli's last international hundred came in 2019 against Bangladesh at home.
Kohli's struggles with the bat have been orchestrated by some terrific bowling by the England bowlers, who have stuck to a line of the stumps to get the better of the Indian captain.
His counterpart Joe Root, on the other hand, has flourished in home conditions, scoring 507 runs in 5 innings so far. He has barely broken into a sweat in the series and has attracted applause from fans and pundits alike.
Javed compared the two captains and shared his thoughts on why he felt Root is a lot more steady with the bat in this series.
''Joe Root's air-tight technique in these tough conditions make him safer than Kohli as he knows how to play the ball late."
Cricketing ecology plays a big role in the development of a player: Aaqib Javed
Root's success clubbed with Kohli's failures have elicited conversations about the ideal way to bat in English conditions. While the jury is still out on the perfect recipe for success, Javed spoke about how cricketing ecology influences a certain player.
"Cricketing ecology plays a very big role in the development of a player. In England, the ball keeps swinging early in the season. Then towards the end, it does tend to spin too. So players get used to playing it the tough way," said Javed.
Javed reiterated that players from the subcontinent are more used to playing the ball through the line as the movement is much less on Asian surfaces. However, he stated that in places like England and New Zealand, batsmen develop a very cautious gameplay owing to very tough batting conditions.
Javed also explained that when slow and low turners are presented to players from the S.E.N.A. nations, they tend to falter as well.
"Players from the subcontinent ooze flair because they don't care much about the ball moving around as they hit it through the line. Whereas, players from SENA can play the moving ball well. But once it starts to turn and keep low, they flatten out as well. So it is all in the ecology of their native place," noted Javed.
India still has a lot of batting left as the Headingly Test moves to the fourth day. The team are not out of the woods yet despite impressive knocks from Rohit Sharma and Cheteshwar Pujara as they still trail the hosts by 139 runs.