With the 33-year-old returning for the Asia Cup tournament, experts have touted Kohli to make a strong return, especially with India taking on Pakistan in their opener. But ahead of the blockbuster match, a former Pakistan pacer has made a bold claim comparing Kohli with Babar Azam.
Indian Cricket captain Virat Kohli is set to return to the Indian team for the upcoming Asia Cup tournament in the United Arab Emirates later this month. Kohli, who has struggled with the bat, has been chastised for opting to rest for the recent West Indies tour and the upcoming Zimbabwe One-Day Internationals. However, with the 33-year-old returning for the Asia Cup tournament, experts expect Kohli to make a strong comeback, especially with India facing Pakistan in their opening match. However, ahead of the big game, former Pakistan pacer Aaqib Javed has made a bold claim, comparing Kohli to Babar Azam.
Speaking on Paktv.tv, Javed stated that technically sound batters such as Babar, Kane Williamson, and Joe Root rarely go through a dry spell as long as Kohli, who has now gone 993 days without scoring an international century.
Javed believes that with Kohli changing his technique during his struggles, he has become aware of his weakness and can only overcome it by batting freely and playing a big knock.
“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 targetted that a million times.
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,” he explained.
Kohli enjoys playing against Pakistan, especially in the T20I format. In seven innings so far, he has scored 311 runs at 77.75 with three fifties. No other batter has scored even 200 runs in this rivalry.
“If Kohli doesn’t perform, and India lose, they also face a similar situation like us. Then 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 rhythm,” Javed added.