In the first two One-day International games in the three-match series, Virat Kohli failed to make much contributions against Sri Lanka at the R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo. After announcing his retirement from the shortest format of the game, he joined the Indian team for a series, but he has struggled against the opponent spinners.
In the very first game, he managed 24 runs in 32 balls with the help of a couple of boundaries, while two days later, the former Indian captain made only 14 runs. On both occasions, he has been given leg before the stumps as Virat Kohli looked to play the spinners on the back foot.
Under the guidance of new head coach Gautam Gambhir, the Delhi-born has failed to make any major contribution in the game, as the Blue Brigade trail in the series with a 0-1 margin, thanks to the tied result in the opening clash.
Former Pakistan captain shocked by Virat Kohli’s struggle against spin
The former Pakistan player Basit Ali has expressed his shock after watching a classic player like Virat Kohli struggling against the spinners. He felt that perhaps the batter had been short of practice coming into the series, which has resulted in his constant failures in both games.
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“A great batsman like Virat Kohli, the world’s number one batsman, has been out LBW twice. It’s understandable if it happens to Iyer or Dube, but Virat Kohli is Virat Kohli. This means that he is not in practice.” The former middle-order batter remarked in a video shared on his YouTube channel.
In the first game, Kohli was dismissed by the leg-spinner Wanindu Hasaranga, while in the second game, young Jaffrey Vandersay trapped him before the stumps as the Delhi-born looked to play the shot on his backfoot.
When it comes to his form against the leg-spinners, the 35-year-old has notched up 1332 runs in 81 innings, at an average of over 70 and a strike rate of nearly 103, besides smacking 103 boundaries and 16 over boundaries. Even against the off-spinners, Virat has nailed 2104 runs in 146 innings, at an average of over 70 and a strike rate of around 90, which hardly any such struggle against those types of bowlers.
Basit Ali also slammed KL Rahul and Shreyas Iyer for consecutive failures as, according to him, both of those batters came into the series without any practice.
“It did not seem that this is the batting lineup which rules the world. I feel that Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul probably haven’t even practiced. These people have come without practice.” The veteran added.
The 53-year-old also advised the head coach of the Indian team to drop Iyer for his back-to-back failure with the bat, besides suggesting he pick one of Riyan Parag and Rishabh Pant for the third and final game of the series.
“I don’t understand what Shreyas Iyer is going to do with such performances. I think the time has come for Rishabh Pant, Riyan Parag, and Rinku Singh.” The former Pakistan batter elaborated.
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“India’s 50-over domestic tournament will be vital for Gautam Gambhir because he will have to take some players from there. If India picks players based on reputation, the results won’t be too good in the Champions Trophy.” Basit Ali concluded.
With the inclusion of Pant, India will also have the luxury of a left-handed aggressive batter in the middle order as they prepare themselves for the third game on August 07, 2024, at the R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo.