Kohli Should Look At Himself In The Mirror And Himself Questions, Says Sunil Gavaskar

May 6, 2017 at 12:51 PM

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Kohli Should Look At Himself In The Mirror And Himself Questions, Says Sunil Gavaskar

Sunil Gavaskar, the former India captain and batting legend, seem highly upset with the batting mindset of Virat Kohli and his RCB teammates. He feels that lacklustre approach shown during the chase has been the core reason for the entire failure of the franchise this season.

The combined failure of Kohli & Co. against Kings XI Punjab last night (May 5) seems to have broken the 62-year old’s patience. Speaking about RCB’s batting, Gavaskar said Kohli needed to look himself in the mirror for the shot he tried and got bowled against paceman Sandeep Sharma.

“The first thing he (Kohli) should be doing is look at himself in the mirror. The shot he played wasn’t exactly a great shot. The shot he played in Eden Gardens (against Kolkata Knight Riders) wasn’t a great shot,” Gavaskar said in the post-match show “Extra Innings” on Sony TV.

“So he has got to say to himself. He is the captain. He has got to stay there (at the crease). He is not in form so stay there and work yourself with proper cricketing shots. Then widen the scope of your shots,” he added.

With just 2 wins in 2 matches, RCB, the runner-up in the 2016 edition, are already out of the tournament. Their most recent fixture saw them fold up for 119 on their home ground – M Chinnaswamy Stadium – while chasing a modest target of 139 set by KXIP batting first.

The top order again failed to get going. Skipper Kohli could make only 6 runs, Chris Gayle was out for 0 while AB de Villiers managed only 10. The star trio gave away their wickets to one bowler – Sandeep Sharma. The middle order was also not able to show much restraint and got dismissed in short time by Maxwell & Co.

Explaining about RCB’s out of form batsmen, Gavaskar said it was not easy to attempt big shots and get runs.

“What happens, as a batsman, when you go through a lean patch you start thinking what to do? The easiest option suggested to everybody is hit your way out of trouble. Now, if that is not your natural game, it becomes difficult. In fact, you will make your game little bit worse. That is what these (RCB) guys are trying to do – hit their way out of trouble.

He also explained that the target could have been reached with help of normal cricket shots and no flashy shots were required at all. He stated that both Kohli and De Villiers can blame poor shot selection for the dull show. Mandeep Singh, who was the sole performer last night, also received some criticism for his erratic shot after getting settled down.

“They can play proper cricketing shots and still they could have got to the target (139). They would have felt the ball in the middle of the bat. They might not have got the sixes but would have got boundaries (fours). That is all you needed, little more than 6 runs an over. But they were all trying to hit the big shots, the sixes, that is why they got out,” Gavaskar explained.

“Apart from (Chris) Gayle, who was deceived by late movement, Virat (Kohli) went for that big six shot, AB de Villiers went for that big six shot, Mandeep Singh, having settled down, went for the big shot. So, there you are.

“Your main batsmen went for the glamour shots instead of looking to play proper cricketing shots. Get the boundary. Between a four and a six the difference is two runs. Because you hit the ball in the air (for six), the risk percentage goes up to a 100.” RCB have now lost 4 matches in a row. They are already out of contention for a play-off spot. They have only 5 points from 12 games and are languishing at the bottom of the 8-team standings.

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