Published: Mar 13, 2021, 01:50 PM (IST)
Edited: Mar 13, 2021, 01:50 PM (IST)
India captain Virat Kohli struggle with the bat continues as he was dismissed for a duck during the first T20I between India and England in Ahmedabad on Friday. This was the third time when Kohli was dismissed for a duck in his last five innings in international cricket. Walking in to bat at No. 3 – Kohli was struggling to get off the mark after four balls in the first T20I. To break the shackles, Kohli tried to muscle an Adil Rashid delivery over the 30-yard circle only to be caught by Chris Jordan at mid-off for a five-ball duck.
Despite India captain’s ordinary run with the bat, former England captain and cricket expert – Michael Vaughan is not too concerned about Kohli and feels that his best is around the corner. Vaughan feels Kohli needs to be selfish if the Indian team is to rack up big scores and lift the T20 World Cup this year.
“For India to get those big scores, be really effective, and go on to win the T20 World Cup, it will serve the team better if Virat is just a little bit selfish. A little bit more selfish in the first few deliveries, gives himself ten balls to get in. Even if he leaves out 3-4 balls in that, you know a couple of boundaries, and he will be on his way,” Vaughan was quoted by Cricbuzz.
Earlier, the 32-year-old Kohli was dimissed for naught in India’s only innings in the fourth and final Test in which he was removed by Ben Stokes. He also failed to open his account in the first innings of the second Test in Chennai. However, Kohli made a fighting 62 in the second innings of the second Test and 27 in the only innings of the pink-ball Test against England.
The 46-year-old Vaughan also believes that Kohli need to take some time to settle and get an eye in before unleashing his array of strokes. He also claimed that Kohli hardly looks out of form despite his low run of scores. The Englishman believes that the Indian stalwart is only 10-15 balls away from his best.
“For India to get those big scores, be really effective, and go on to win the T20 World Cup, it will serve the team better if Virat is just a little bit selfish. A little bit more selfish in the first few deliveries, gives himself ten balls to get in. Even if he leaves out 3-4 balls in that, you know a couple of boundaries, and he will be on his way,” Vaughan added.
During India’s tour of Australia 2020-21, Kohli had batted well through the T20I and ODI series. He followed it up with a 74 in the pink-ball Adelaide Test against Australia.
