"The mind is playing a trick" - Dinesh Karthik on Virat Kohli’s dangerous habit of flirting outside off stump in BGT 2024-25
Former India keeper-batter Dinesh Karthik reckons that Virat Kohli is thinking too much about his weakness against the ball outside off stump, which is affecting him in a negative manner. According to Karthik, because Kohli is so intent on leaving balls outside off stump, his mind is playing a trick and blurring his judgment.
Kohli was dismissed for three off 16 balls in India's first innings on Day 3 of the third Test against Australia in Brisbane on Monday, December 16. The right-handed batter was dismissed in a familiar mode, nicking a wide delivery outside off stump from Josh Hazlewood.
While discussing the former Indian captain's dismissal on Cricbuzz, Karthik opined that Kohli's troubles outside the off stump have had a negative impact on his ability to think clearly when it comes to picking his strokes. He elaborated:
"So, he is saying, 'I don't want to play anything outside the off stump. I want to leave it'. But he is so tuned to doing it and he is thinking about it so much through the day and in the night that, eventually, the moment it is thrown out there, I think his body reacts in such a way that his hands go hard at the ball. And that's what inducing the edge."
"If you are trying to tell me that Virat doesn't know he shouldn't be playing outside the off stump, I don't think it is right. He is aware, he wants to leave it. But, as much as he is telling himself, when the game is on and he is in the middle and he is all alone, I think the mind is playing a trick, where the moment he sees it on release, his perception goes towards the ball and that is hampering him," the 39-year-old went on to add.
India are in big trouble in the Brisbane Test, which has been severely affected by rain. Responding to Australia's first innings total of 445, they went to stumps at 51-4 after 17 overs. Apart from Kohli, Yashasvi Jaiswal (4), Shubman Gill (1) and Rishabh Pant (9) are also back in the pavilion. At stumps, KL Rahul was batting on 33 and skipper Rohit Sharma on zero.
Virat Kohli's poor form a huge concern for India
In five innings in the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy, Kohli has scored 126 runs at an average of 31.50. The 36-year-old was dismissed for five in the first innings of the Perth Test, but followed it up with an unbeaten 100 in the second essay.
Since the ton, the experienced Indian batter has registered scores of seven, 11 and three. Overall in 2024, he has 376 runs to his name from 17 Test innings, averaging 25.06, with one hundred and one fifty.