Ex-India batsman Mohammed Kaif gave plaudits to Virat Kohli for making a good comeback in the Asia Cup. Virat Kohli will be crucial for India vs Pakistan and for that matter going into the T20 World Cup as well. India coach Rahul Dravid has said that the players will not be given a break from now on for workload management and India will be playing their best combination from now on.
Defending Kohli’s rough patch, Kaif said there are times when the distance between two big knocks becomes very long but at the moment it looks like Kohli is back at his attacking best.
Virat Kohli has made a strong comeback, assures Mohammed Kaif
Speaking to Sportskeeda ahead of the India vs Pakistan Super-4 game, Kaif said that there is something happy about Kohli’s return to form.
“He’s played well so far. It’s been a really good comeback, something to be happy about. You see, when Virat Kohli wasn’t scoring runs, people’s prayers were with him… People were worried but no one said, ‘Virat Kohli is finished.’”
He further added, “Everyone believed he was a class batter. Yes, his form wasn’t clicking for a long time, but he never looked out of rhythm. Even when he played the IPL, I remember he scored 72 not out against Gujarat Titans, even hit a six against Rashid Khan, he was in rhythm there as well.”
Virat Kohli has added new shots to his arsenal
Talking about Kohli’s last innings against Hong Kong, Kaif said it is possible that Kohli might have added a new shot to his repertoire.
“One shot was against leg-spinner, cross-batted, over mid-wicket — he doesn’t hit that shot often. This is a new shot he’s discovered, across the line and over mid-wicket, he doesn’t use that a lot. It’s visible that his form is returning, and the feel-good factor is back,” Kaif explained.
“Sometimes it happens that there’s a long phase where there are no big knocks but these two innings — got nicely set against Pakistan, got through the phase where their fast-bowlers were bowling well, and in the last match, he batted very attacking, hit sixes as well,” Kaif said.
