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'I think Kohli is very similar to Javed Miandad in that way': Latif draws unique parallel between India, Pakistan greats
The former Pakistan wicketkeeper has drawn a unique similarity between Virat Kohli and Javed Miandad as he spoke about the former's rough patch with the bat.
Team India faced a heavy loss in the 2nd ODI of the three-match series against England on Thursday. Chasing a 247-run target, India were bowled out on 146 as the batting order endured a disappointing outing. In addition, the form of Virat Kohli has become a growing concern for the team management. Kohli registered a series of low scores across all three formats since his return to international cricket after the 2022 Indian Premier League; in fact, he failed to cross the 20-run mark in any of his five international innings since.
On Thursday, Kohli was dismissed on 16 off 25 deliveries in the second ODI, as he nicked one outside-off against David Willey for a simple catch to Jos Buttler. Kohli has primarily been a front-foot player and amid his rough patch, many have suggested the India batter to tweak his technique and go on backfoot, especially against length deliveries outside-off.
However, former Pakistan wicketkeeper-batter and captain Rashid Latif believes that Kohli, in some ways, is ‘similar to Javed Miandad’ as both don't rely too much on data.
“Cricket, as a game, has become smarter with the arrival of data analysts. When Virat made his international debut, such things had just begun to arrive in the game. Not many people actually believed in it strongly. A big player like Javed Miandad had said that computers cannot help in cricket. I think Virat Kohli is very similar to Javed Miandad in that way,” Latif said on his official YouTube channel.
“When your days are good, you won't realise that bowlers are working out on finding your weakness. In modern-day cricket, things have changed. Everyone is finding out the batter's weakness. Babar, Rizwan, Virat... everyone has some weakness or the other. But they haven't changed their game.”
Virat Kohli will return to action for the third and final ODI of the series on Sunday – which will also be his final international appearance at least until the late August – as he has been rested for the tour of West Indies later this month.
