It has now become a given rule and regulation that if a pacer keeps on bowling to Virat Kohli on the fourth or fifth stump line and invites him for a drive, eventually, the batter will throw his bat toward the ball and get the faintest edge to get back to the dressing room, irrespective of the format they are playing.
Even if Virat Kohli shows great attention towards the pacers and keeps on going with a different mindset in defending those deliveries, there will be a period when the off-spinners will come with the old ball and get the wicket of the batter. That’s where his struggle and poor form against these sort of bowlers have become.
During the 2021 Test series in England, Ollie Robinson spoke about bowling consistently in the channel against Kohli and expected him to get an edge on the blade eventually. Three years later, the story hasn’t changed at all.
Ravi Shastri comes up with this advice to Virat Kohli to counter off-spin
During the second innings of the first Test against Bangladesh at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, with a sharp spinning delivery, hit the pads of Virat Kohli, who, after a little discussion with his batting partner Shubman Gill, decided to avoid the review. Later, it was confirmed that he hit an edge on the blade, which he failed to realize.
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This was his 39th dismissal against the off-spinners in the longest format of the game. The likes of Moeen Ali, Nathan Lyon, and Graeme Swann all have had success over the 35-year-old. Even the leg-spinners like Rashid Khan, Adam Zampa, and Adil Rashid have also got the better of Kohli combined 17 times but in a different format.
When the former Indian captain was dismissed late on the second day in the Bangladesh game, the former head coach of the Blue Brigade, Ravi Shastri, was in the commentary box, as he advised that for one of the finest of the batters in the current generation, he won’t be needed any such advice to tackle the challenge but need to be a little more proactive in the contest.
“He (Virat Kohli) has (gotten out to spinners), especially in the last 2-3 years. But he has scored a lot of runs. What you want to see him do more is use his feet. Get to the pitch of the ball, probably employ the sweep.” The former Indian spin all-rounder expressed, shortly after the batter made his way back into the dressing room.
“You’ve got to move with the times, don’t be afraid to go over the top when the field is up. You could try and do things to unsettle the spinners rather than allowing him to keep bowling at you. It’s what he did a lot when he scored a lot of runs.” Ravi Shastri suggested.
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It had now become a pattern for the Delhi-born to get dismissed in every red-ball game in the same fashion, but he needs to do something in the future to get the results in hand. The Mumbai-born believes that it’s up to Virat Kohli to find a way to deal with such bowlers.
“Also, some of the tracks that India have played on. It’s not been easy. Plus I know a few dismissals where like Shubman Gill in the first innings, he’s gotten caught down leg wide. Funny dismissals. He’ll be aware of it.” The former Indian head coach remarked. “That’s for sure. No batter doesn’t remember. You find a method of finding a solution. Find out what works for you and stick with that.”