Former Indian skipper, Virat Kohli will be coming back to international cricket during the impending Asia Cup tournament in the UAE later this month. Kohli, who has been struggling with the bat, has been criticized for opting to rest for the recently-concluded West Indies tour and the upcoming Zimbabwe ODIs. But with the former captain returning for the Asia Cup tournament, experts have touted Kohli to make a strong return, especially with India taking on Pakistan in their opening game.
But ahead of the blockbuster match, former Pakistan fast bowler, Aaqib Javed has come forward and boldly confirmed that made a bold claim comparing Kohli with Babar Azam. Speaking on Paktv.tv, Javed opined that technically-sound batters like Babar, Kane Williamson,, and Joe Root seldom tend to suffer a rough patch as long as Kohli, who has now gone 993 days without scoring an international century.
Aaqib Javed said, “There are two types of great players. One is players who, if they get stuck, their rough patch continues for a long time. The others are technically-sound players, whose rough patch cannot continue that long, like Babar Azam, Kane Williamson, Joe Root. It is difficult to find their weakness. Kohli gets stuck at times with those deliveries outside off stump. James Anderson has targeted that a million times.”
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He further added, “Last day I was watching him bat and I felt that he is now consciously trying not to play those deliveries from a distance. When you change your technique, these problems will surface. To come out of it, he can try playing a big knock without being conscious. That will help him sustain a purple patch for a long time.”
In T20Is, Virat Kohli enjoys a great outing against Pakistan, especially in the T20I format. In seven innings so far, he has amassed 311 runs at 77.75 with three half-centuries. No other batter has scored even 200 runs in this rivalry. India and Pakistan will lock horns with each other on August 28 at the Dubai International Stadium.
Talking about the same, Aaqib Javed said, “If Kohli doesn’t perform, and India loses, they also face a similar situation like us. The questions tend to arise that why didn’t they play an in-form Deepak Hooda, suppose? But in UAE pitches, even out-of-form batters tend to find a rhythm.”
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India will take on Pakistan on August 28 at the Dubai International Stadium, and it is the same venue where the Men in Blue had suffered a 10-wicket defeat in the 2021 T20 World Cup against their arch-nemesis.
