“Stop thinking as captain when you go out to bat” - Inzamam-ul-Haq’s advice to struggling Team India skipper Virat Kohli
Former Pakistan skipper Inzamam-ul-Haq has advised Team India captain Virat Kohli to stop thinking as captain when he goes out to bat. According to Inzamam, Kohli seems to be putting too much pressure on himself and must instead start batting like ‘Virat Kohli’.
Kohli is having a torrid time on the current tour of England, constantly flashing at balls outside off and bringing back memories of the horrors of 2014. While his opposite number, Joe Root, has cracked three consecutive hundreds, Kohli has managed a top score of 42.
Speaking on his YouTube channel, Inzamam reckoned that the Team India skipper isn’t looking like his normal self on the current tour of England. He opined:
“Everyone knows that Virat Kohli is the No. 1 player in the world. His touch as a class player is missing so far. If he wants to come out of this rut, Kohli needs to play his strokes and go back to his natural game. He is putting too much pressure on himself.”
Inzamam added:
“My suggestion to Kohli will be - stop thinking like captain when you go out to bat. He needs to remember that he is Virat Kohli. He needs to bat just the way Virat Kohi does. Kohli must keep all the other stuff related to captaincy aside when he bats. If he goes in thinking as captain every time, his natural fluency and power gets affected, which can be seen. Yes, it’s a big series but Kohli must remember that he has performed on the big stage before. But he seems to have gone into his shell and needs to come out of it.”
Kohli was dismissed for 7 off 17 in the first innings of the Headingley Test as Team India crumbled to 78 all out.
"England has one Joe Root, India have many players who can play big knocks" - Inzamam-ul-Haq
While hailing England skipper Joe Root for yet another stupendous hundred, Inzamam added that Team India too have players who can play the long innings. He explained:
"England has one Joe Root, India have many players who can play big knocks. But Ajinkya Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara are consuming too many balls and then get out to good balls. They need to start attacking a bit. If Rohit Sharma starts to play freely, he too can be more effective and put pressure back on England.”
After the high of Lord’s, Team India got a reality check when they were cleaned up for 78 on Day 1 of the Headingley Test. With three full days left, England have already built up a mammoth lead of 345, with two first-innings wickets left.