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Cricket Players'He's under pressure': Ex-England spinner feels Kohli knows his 'position could be up for grabs' if he doesn't score big
The veteran has advised Kohli to out aside the off-field talks and focus on putting the best possible XI for all the three matches win the series in South Africa.
Former England cricketer Monty Panesar feels that the loss of ODI captaincy role and the off-field controversy that followed following his fiery remarks ahead of the departure for the South Africa Test series will motivate Virat Kohli to bounce back to scoring ways and break the 763-days century drought. Panesar however feels that Kohli might be replaced from the Indian Test team if he fails to score big in the impending three-match Test series and the Indian Test skipper knows that.
"I think he will be very motivated because he knows that if he does not score a lot of runs in Test cricket then that position could be up for grabs as well. So, he is under pressure to perform but he needs to do well and actually get some wins and even India are winning and he does not score the runs that still is a positive for Virat Kohli because he knows how to get the best out of an individual," he told ANI.
Panesar has advised Kohli to out aside the off-field talks and focus on putting the best possible XI for all the three matches win the series in South Africa.
So, he needs to put that aside now and think about how to win in South Africa which is far more important and that is what I think BCCI wants from him. He wants to get the best eleven out there to win this Test series," he added.
The veteran has hailed India, who twice beat Australia in their own backyard and took an unassailable 2-1 lead in the England Test series earlier this year, as the favourites to win the contest.
"I think India have got a great chance. They seem like a favourite to win that series. They know how to win now away from India and that is to do with Ravi Shastri's coaching philosophy. He really instilled that belief, the motivation to say guys any situation we are going to fight and if you are in a dominant position then we are going to keep our foot on the throat. So, I think it is still there within this Indian team and this will be historic for Indian cricket for them to win their first series in South Africa and this is their best chance. They have got a stronger team. Their team is much stronger than the South Africans. I think India are firm favourites to win the series," he said.
India have never won a Test series in South Africa in seven visits to the Rainbow Nation. They lost six and one ended in a draw.
