Former Indian cricketer Farokh Engineer has put his weight behind Indian skipper Virat Kohli, who is going through a lean patch with his batting. Engineer believes Kohli is also a human and will bounce back in no time. He also mentioned that Kohli is able to get the job done with his 40s and 50s in Test cricket.
Kohli hasn’t been able to touch a three-figure mark in international cricket since November 2019, making it Kohli’s worst batting phase since making his international debut. However, he, often, scores fluent 40s and 50s, which was on display during the Lord’s Test as well.
Kohli got 42 in the first innings before managing 20 in the second at Lord’s.
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Farokh Engineer mentioned how Joe Root is scoring runs consistently while Kohli is struggling to do so.
“He is one of the finest batsmen in the world today. I would say ‘one of them’ because he has been getting the runs that he is used to getting. Joe Root, on the other hand, is getting a lot of runs,” Engineer said to Sports Tak.
“Well, a player of Virat Kohli’s calibre, every time he walks onto the pitch, we expect a hundred from him. Virat is human after all. We human beings make mistakes. There is a lot of elements of luck also when you play and miss. You either miss or get an edge. Unfortunately, he has been getting the nicks and getting caught out,” he further added.
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“I wouldn’t blame him. He is still a great player. And he doesn’t go down in my opinion. He is still getting 40s and 50s. He is a class player.”
However, the former wicketkeeper praised Kohli’s body language during the second Test match against England, where India came from behind to register a 151-run win.
“His aggression is good for Indian cricket because I am the one who started giving it back to them. I am proud of people like Virat, they are standing up to these Englishmen and giving it back to them exactly where it hurts them,” Engineer added.
The third Test will be played in Leeds from August 25.
