It is by now a well established fact that Kohli is struggling. Things would not have been blown out of proportion if not for Kohli’s extraordinary run making skill during his career. Now, everyone have started to advise Kohli about what he must and must not do. Ofcourse, all of them with good intention of seeing a great batsman come back to form and resume his incredible scoring. Kohli has few more years to contribute to the Indian team. We have certainly not seen the last of him. I expect him to start scoring runs and if he starts that in the T20 World Cup, it is all the more better. Let me analyse Gavaskar’s offer to help and Ganguly’s comments. I will also analyse Ashwin’s comment about switching off the TV.
Kohli is a modern day great. There is no doubt on that front. He has proved against every opposition and in all the conditions. That is exactly the reason it is tough and see such a great player go through the struggle that he is going through. As an Indian supporter, it is all the more perplexing. How is that someone of Kohli’s calibre is finding hard to score runs? Every player goes through such a phase and they come out of it. Kohli will also do the same but the question is from when? His authoritative presence is very much required by the Indian team. A lot of former players have offered to help Kohli. One was Sunil Gavaskar.
Sunil Gavaskar wants to spend 20 minutes
When it comes to batting against the best of bowling, you do not have to look beyond Sunil Gavaskar. The runs he scored against the ferocious West Indies attack is a testimony to that fact. He has offered to help Kohli.
“If I had about 20 minutes with him, I would be able to tell him the things he might have to do,” Gavaskar said. “It might help him, I am not saying it will help him, but it could, particularly with regards to that off-stump line.”
Coming from someone of his calibre, one would expect Kohli to jump at the opportunity. However, the point is that, it has been more than 30 years since Gavaskar played the game. Ofcourse, he has been in touch with the game ever since through his commentary stint but I think that he lacks exposure towards the modern game. Besides, Kohli will already be discussing his problems with De Villiers or Shastri or Dravid, someone who has played in the modern era. I doubt whether Kohli will consult with Gavaskar, afterall, too many cooks spoils the broth. Perhaps, he must listen to his childhood coach for advise.
Ganguly’s advise for Kohli
The current board president, Saurav Ganguly, has offered his own advise for Kohli.
Yes, he has had a tough time and he knows that. He has been a great player himself. He himself knows by his own standards it has not been good and I see him coming back and doing well. But he has got to find his way and become successful, which he has been for the last 12-13 years or more and only Virat Kohli can do that, ” said BCCI President Sourav Ganguly
If you think about it, it does make sense. Outside help can be sought but it depends on the player to find a way. One might want him leave some deliveries while the other may want him to try to score of the same delivery etc. Too many advise will only spoil Kohli’s thought process. He is welcome to take them in but he must find an effective way to come out of the current rut.
Kapil Dev’s distasteful comment
On the otherhand, there have been some distasteful comment from the former captain, Kapil Dev. It is so sad to see Kapil of all the players say such things.
‘Yes, now the situation is such that you might be forced to bench Kohli from T20 playing eleven. If world No. 2 bowler Ashwin can be dropped from Test side then (once upon a time) world No. 1 batter can also be dropped,” Kapil told ABP News.
I have to say this at this moment. First, dropping Ashwin and dropping Kohli are completely different things. Kohli has proved everywhere whereas Ashwin hasn’t. Be that as it may but Kapil Dev must not be calling for Kohli to be dropped when Kohli is struggling. Kapil Dev was a complete team player during the earlier and middle part of his career but he played the last 3 years for entirely wrong reasons. The world record. He played instead of Srinath who was denied chances while he was coming up. Yet, the whole country willed him to achieve the record. Kapil will do well to remember this phase of his career.
Ashwin’s lament
“I’m an absolute cricket badger, a nut, and I switch off the telly after a point of time, watching the one-day game. I think one ball [per innings] is something that would work and even the spinners would come into play.”
Ashwin is a bit of an out of the box thinker. Be it his views about Mankading or his views about reverse sweep, he says things that others just do not know or do not want to comment. He often does or says things that the administrators would not want to listen or at the best, they look the other way.
He wasn’t off the mark in his view about switching off the TV during an ODI. With the advent of 2 new balls, the shorter boundaries and various other batsmen friendly rules, ODI have become an extension of T20. Spinners are not able to grip the ball properly and there is absolutely no scope for reverse swing. Already, the rules in white-ball is pretty harsh on the bowlers. Anything down the leg, even marginally, is called a wide. On top of that, the two new balls is virtually killing bowling. It is no wonder that nowadays, any score less than 300 is not considered a fighting score. It is just a miracle that bowlers still find ways around these harsh rules.
Wrapping up Gavaskar’s offer to help Kohli and Ganguly’s comments
While Gavaskar has nothing but the interest of Kohli on his mind, it depends on Kohli to decide from whom should he sought help. As for Ashwin, it is time to go back to the one-ball per innings rule.
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