Former India player turned veteran commentator Aakash Chopra said that he does not have a magical solution that might help Virat Kohli regain his form in the third ODI against England as well. While observing that Kohli cannot leave balls outside the off stump in ODIs, he urged the veteran batter to play such balls with soft hands at the start of his innings as well.
In a video shared on his YouTube channel ‘Aakash Chopra,’ he said, “What does Virat Kohli need to do to get back into form? He was looking okay in the few balls he played. He played a good on-drive and a good back-foot punch. Adil Rashid got him out earlier as well and got him out this time too. The ball was turning a little and he was left slightly away from the ball because of which he got an outside edge. I don’t have a magic wand. I cannot even ask you to leave balls outside the off-stump because this is ODI cricket. You will have to score runs off deliveries outside the off-stump. It will be called a wide in any case if it is too far outside the off-stump.”
ALSO READ: “In the next T20 World Cup in India, he’ll be number one bowler” – Mohammad Kaif on Varun Chakravarthy
“In the channel outside the off-stump, eventually you will have to play with soft hands and look for singles. That’s the only thing maybe, instead of going for drives, you can play with soft hands at the start if the balls are slightly too far outside the off-stump, but that’s about it,” Chopra again shared.
However, Aakash Chopra also added that the pitch at the Narendra Modi Stadium might help Virat Kohli return to his form.
“His Test century (last in India) came here and he scored runs in the (2023 ODI World Cup) final as well, but it’s been an okay ground for him. It’s not that he scores runs whenever he comes here. However, if you are figuring out where you can score runs, this pitch is good for that. The ball comes nicely onto the bat. You can give yourself time and score a lot of runs. If Rohit and Gill fire, they score runs at a fast pace, you get the chance to play at your pace and just score runs. Spend time on the pitch,” he concluded.
