I Would Advise Virat Kohli, Cheteshwar Pujara And Ajinknya Rahane Not To Look At Their Recent Stats, Says Zaheer Khan

Aug 7, 2021 at 11:09 AM

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I Would Advise Virat Kohli, Cheteshwar Pujara And Ajinknya Rahane Not To Look At Their Recent Stats, Says Zaheer Khan

Zaheer Khan, former Indian pacer has advised under-fire middle-order batsmen Virat Kohli, Cheteshwar Pujara, and Ajinknya Rahane not to look at their recent stats as they will not get confidence from them. The left-arm pacer opined that the experienced trio should reminisce about their good times on the field with the bat and try to regain confidence from that.

Since the start of 2020, Virat Kohli has played nine Tests and scored 345 runs at an average of 23. In the same period, Ajinkya Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara have played 12 Test matches and scored 540 and 531 runs at an average of 27 and 25.28, respectively. Only Ajinkya Rahane has managed to score a century among the trio in the said period.

(L - R) India's Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane | AFP
(L – R) India’s Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane | AFP

Zaheer Khan Would Advise Virat Kohli, Cheteshwar Pujara, And Ajinknya Rahane Not To Look At Their Recent Stats

Zaheer Khan who was asked what advice he would give Virat Kohli, Cheteshwar Pujara, and Ajinkya Rahane after their string of failures in recent times replied that the trio shouldn’t look at their recent stats.

“I would advise them not to look at their recent stats. There is no point in it because they would not gain confidence from it. They have to think about their good performances of the past. And what factors in their game worked for them during those good times that led them towards success.”

Zaheer Khan. Image-Sportstar
Zaheer Khan. Image-Sportstar

Cheteshwar Pujara is India’s second-highest Test run-getter in the current team after skipper Virat Kohli with 6000 plus runs (6267) in 86 matches but has often been accused of playing an ultra-defensive game which increases pressure on batsmen who follow.

Zaheer Khan: Rather Than Concentrating On Negative Aspects, The Trip Should Fixate Their Minds On Positive Things

Zaheer Khan added that if the trio believes they need to work on any technical aspect, they can iron it out with the help of coaches in the practice sessions. He also stressed the importance of having a positive frame of mind at such turbulent times.

“If they feel there are any technical deficiencies in their batting, then they can take assistance from Ravi Shastri or batting coach and work on them in the net sessions. Everyone does it as it is a usual process. If we talk only about confidence, it is not like if you have performed in these conditions in the past, you can’t do it again or better your previous performance. “

“Rather than concentrating on negative aspects, they should fixate their minds on positive things. Because a batsman is always one knock away from being in good or bad form,” added Zaheer Khan.

Ajinkya Rahane. (Photo Source: Getty Images)
Ajinkya Rahane. (Photo Source: Getty Images)

Zaheer Khan further advises India’s revered trinity to focus their minds on the positive aspects of their game instead of pondering on the negative ones as they are out of form as all three of them are under the pump. The 42-year-old World Cup winner reckoned the three batsmen are good enough to return to their best even in difficult batting conditions, but they need to iron out their technical flaws.

India’s three best Test batsmen could not muster notable scores during the aforementioned period. Their batting averages have been their worst ever, or matched their poorest phase, across fairly long careers. Ajinkya Rahane, Cheteshwar Pujara, and Virat Kohli have been the backbone of Indian batting through the past decade after Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman and Sachin Tendulkar retired close to each other.

Ajinkya Rahane, who averages 40.81 in his 75 Tests, has only once before slumped to a poorer return in a calendar year. That was in 2017-2018 when he averaged less than 35, largely due to a quiet tour of England. He averages a meagre 20.62 in 8 Tests in 2021. Virat Kohli averaged a substandard 19.33 in 3 Tests in 2020 and 25.44 in 6 Tests in 2021. Cheteshwar Pujara fared no better averaging 20.38 in 2020 (4 Tests) and 28.31 in 2021 (8 Tests).

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