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Cricket Players'Virat Kohli tries to dominate because of ego and pride but is overdoing it': Misbah-ul-Haq before India vs England Test
The former Pakistan captain said Kohli at times overdoes his ploy of trying to dominate the bowlers. “He is trying to dominate the bowlers as there's an ego and pride. But somewhere he is overdoing it. He is playing more and more and the pressure is mounting on him.
Virat Kohli’s slump in the last couple of years has been one of the biggest talking points whenever India play a cricket match. Kohli is on the search for his 71st international century since November 2019. Things pretty much remain the same ahead of India's rescheduled Test against England. Deliveries outside the line of off-stump have always troubled Kohli but of late, things have become worse. Former Pakistan captain Misbah-ul-Haq believes that it is this very thing which is preventing Kohli from achieving new heights. Speaking on the ICA Sports YouTube channel, Misbah said “Virat Kohli looks to chase outside-off deliveries a lot and has been dismissed in that manner multiple times. We can see the technical issues, but the reason why he is doing that is because of mental issues.”
While Kohli is a naturally attacking batter, Misbah holds the opinion that he could be more successful in this next phase of his career if he allows himself to play a little more conservatively. After all, going for boundaries isn’t the only way to score runs, and in the first four Tests in England, last summer, Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul showed how letting your natural game take the backseat can prove to be fruitful.
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The former Pakistan captain said Kohli at times overdoes his ploy of trying to dominate the bowlers. “He is trying to dominate the bowlers as there's an ego and pride. But somewhere he is overdoing it. He is playing more and more and the pressure is mounting on him."
Kohli, however, looked in good touch in the warm-up game against Leicestershire, scoring a fluent fifty in the second innings. However, Kohli has shown flashes of being in good touch in the last few years without succeeding to notch up the big runs expected from him.
India lead the series against England 2-1, having won the matches at Lord’s and the Oval last year. A win or draw in the final rescheduled match at Edgbaston would mean India’s first Test series victory in England since 2007. Kohli led the team in the first four Tests, but has since then been replaced by Rohit Sharma. The final Test begins on July 1.
