'He’s an enforcer and not accumulator like Sachin': Aakash on why adapting to Rohit's 'philosophy' will 'liberate' Kohli

Aakash opined that despite Kohli not being at his destructive best in recent times, he isn't going through a rough patch.

Former Team India cricketer Aakash Chopra on Monday looked to analyse Virat Kohli’s form, saying that the former skipper should be "an enforcer" rather than "an accumulator" of runs and also explained how adapting to new white-ball skipper Rohit Sharma's brand of cricket will 'liberate' him as a batsman.

Sachin Tendulkar; Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli

Speaking on Star Sports show 'Game Plan' ahead of the three-match ODI series between India and West Indies, Aakash opined that despite Kohli not being at his destructive best in recent times, he isn't going through a rough patch. He further added that unlike cricket greats like Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid, he wants Kohli to be an enforcer and not just accumulate runs.

"From a personal and individual standpoint, you want to convert those 50s into 100s because you’ve got to save something for the rainy days as well. He’s not going through a bad patch of form, so to speak, in terms of runs, but when you see him bat, you don’t see the same Virat Kohli. He’s not imposing, he’s not dominating, he’s still scratching around, he’s scoring those runs and that’s what all great players do – we saw Sachin, Rahul – we’ve seen them accumulate runs, but he’s (Virat Kohli) not an accumulator, he’s an enforcer but he’s not there yet," he said.

The veteran cricketer is also eager to see how the new ODI captain, Rohit, will "stamp his authority" in the impending series and how Kohli will adapt to it. Aakash feels that being part of a different set-up and philosophy will 'liberate' Kohli as the responsibility of a captain is now off his shoulders.

“But the one thing I actually want to see, is now Rohit Sharma will have his stamp of authority and the brand of cricket that he wants to play. Virat Kohli has to be apart of the same philosophy. And once you have a different philosophy in place, sometimes it just liberates you, because you are not really thinking about, ‘Ok, I need to score or I need to do this. This is what all of us have to do together.’ And that is what I am waiting to see, whether it unleashes and liberates Virat Kohli, no matter you get out on 50 but score that 50 off 55 balls, don’t worry about scoring a century, finishing games off, as a captain, you’ve done it all this while. It’s no longer your only job, your job description has changed a little,” he explained.

The ODI series will begin from February 6 onwards, with all matches being played at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.