Virat Kohli failed again in the Brisbane Test. He returned to the dressing room with just three runs. This time, his former teammate Cheteshwar Pujara raised questions about Kohli’s technique.
According to Pujara, the older the ball Kohli plays, the sharper he will become. His technique is not for the new ball. India’s top order is not consistent for Kohli, Pujara also commented.
In his words, “Kohli is being forced to play with the new ball. He has been out as many times as he has played before. Partha scored a century because he had to play with the old ball. His technique is not ready for the new ball. He should definitely come out to play after 10, 15 or 20 overs. When bowling with the new ball, the bowlers are fresh and their confidence is high. When you get two wickets, the whole team gets stronger.”
Statistics show that Pujara is not wrong. Before Kohli came out to play in Partha, KL Rahul and Yashasvi Jaiswal had given away 201 runs together. In the first innings of the second Test, Kohli came out to play in the 19th over and returned for just seven runs. In the second innings, he came out to play in the ninth over and scored only 11 runs.
Pujara further said, “Whenever the bowlers bowl between the fourth and sixth stumps, Kohli goes to play it and gets out. It’s not a good sign. He understands that himself. I have seen him leave the ball in the nets. But he can’t do that when he gets down to the crease !
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