Danish Kaneria, the former Pakistan spinner believes Virat Kohli’s poor form is putting pressure on the rest of the batting unit.
Virat Kohli’s string of poor scores continued as he endured yet another lackluster outing in the third ODI against England in Manchester on Sunday (July 17).
Danish Kaneria: Good Form Keeps Eluded From Virat Kohli’s Bat At The Moment
Much like his innings in the second ODI at Lord’s, the former Indian skipper assessed the wicket well before scoring a couple of boundaries. However, Virat Kohli once again fell prey to the channel outside the off-stump and perished for 17 off 22 deliveries, bringing the curtains down on a forgettable tour.
Stating that with each passing innings, good form looks to be edging further and further away from Virat Kohli, Danish Kaneria said on his YouTube channel: “Virat Kohli is a great player, but for a while now there has been a load on the team since the runs are not coming. If runs are not coming in from the top order, someone has to get in.”
Danish Kaneria added: “He has to take a step back, we all want him to come back stronger. At the moment, good form keeps going away from him.”
The 33-year-old compiled only 76 runs across six innings on the tour of England. This also marked the first instance where Virat Kohli failed to get past 20 runs in four consecutive ODI innings.
Virat Kohli scored only 11 and 20 in the 5th Test against England. His poor form continued in T20Is too as he failed to make a mark on his comeback. The batting superstar was out for just 1 off 3 balls in the 2nd T20I and scored 11 off 6 balls in the 3rd T20I before a minor groin strain ruled him out of the 1st ODI. He scored 16 in the 2nd ODI and 17 in the 3rd ODI.
Danish Kaneria Advices Virat Kohli To Go Back To Coach To Rectify His Issue As He Feels Taking A Break Won’t Sort Out His Problems
Virat Kohli has been short of runs across formats in what is shaping up to be one of the worst calendar years of his career. He also had a poor 2022 Indian Premier League (IPL) campaign, where he played as an opener as well as at No. 3 for the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB).
Before the tour of England, the talismanic run-scorer had a forgettable time in IPL 2022 as well. Representing the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), he scored 341 runs in 16 matches at an average of 22.73. He registered three golden ducks during the edition.
Advising Virat Kohli to go back to his coach to rectify the issue, Danish Kaneria said: “He needs to take a step back and figure out what the problem is. He needs to go back to his coach, only he can rectify this issue.”
The former leg spinner opined that taking a break was not the solution and concluded: “There is no point in taking a rest for a series, he could have taken a break during the IPL. Players have become stale after playing so much cricket. Kohli is doing everything right, but nothing is going his way.”
Following the culmination of the England tour, Virat Kohli is likely to next be seen in the 2022 Asia Cup. He is being rested for the entire white-ball tour of the Caribbean, beginning on July 22. Virat Kohli’s last international ton had come in 2019 in a Test against Bangladesh and after that, the three-figure mark has eluded him.