'If you take Sachin Tendulkar's example…': Dilip Vengsarkar's key piece of advice for out-of-form Virat Kohli
India great Dilip Vengsarkar has joined a long list of former cricketers to share a message for Virat Kohli that might help him snap out of poor form.
India great Dilip Vengsarkar has joined a long list of former cricketers to share a message for Virat Kohli that might help him snap out of poor form. Kohli's lean patch has been a huge matter of concern, with his scores in the last 10 outings reading 20, 73, 35, 7, 11, 1, 11, 16 and 17 respectively. Furthermore, the fact that Kohli is getting out in the same fashion match in and match out – edging the ball outside off-stump is what is making matters worse and allowing bowlers to gain confidence against him. Amid debates whether Kohli should or should not take a break, Vengsarkar feels the former India captain, for a start, can take a leaf out of Sachin Tendulkar's page.
"If you take the example of Sachin Tendulkar in 2004, he was getting out in the same way in Australia. So, he cut off that scoring area completely and scored 241 in the last Test match of that series, without playing the cover drive. Similarly, Virat also has the ability to do the same, he needs to work hard in that area and play effectively," Vengsarkar told Khaleej Times.
Kohli's patten of dismissals indicate something different. Lately, he has started the innings with aplomb, cracking boundaries like he did in the ODIs against England. But each time he has gotten off to a bright, positive start, Kohli has given his wicket away which is very unlike him. Unlike many of his peers, Vengsarkar feels there is nothing wrong with Kohli's technique, but at the same time, has urged the star India batter to be more cautious the idea that he will be targeting outside off going forward.
"Look, he is a great player and he has scored all his runs all these years with the same technique. So I don't think there is anything wrong technically. But yes, he is getting out in the same fashion, so he should stay more alert and work hard on that area because the bowlers are now going to bowl that off-stump line to him all the time. They are not going to bowl on his pads, they are not going to bowl the half volleys to him," added Vengsarkar.
