Any Player Can Have Good Or Bad Days - Kirti Azad On Virat Kohli's Batting Form

Former India all-rounder Kirti Azad backs under-fire Virat Kohli to come good soon. He also feels that the Indian captain is excessively criticised for his failures, and reckons the bowler should be given the credit for the dismissal as well.

Kohli’s last international century came in November 2019. Since 2020, in 11 Tests he averages 25 adding only three fifties to his name. His lack of big knocks in overseas games have been more hurtful to the side. On the current tour to England, he has been dismissed thrice for 20 and less in three Tests.

Kirti Azad reckons every player goes through the ups and downs in sport. He talks about how the Indian media and fans wax lyrical for their players when they are performing well, but question their place and form when they go through a lean patch.

“When the batsman is batting well, we will shower praise like anything but when he struggles a bit, we quickly curse him. Any player can have good or bad days. In India, we basically have the winning spirit and not sportsman spirit in public,” Kirti Azad told IANS.

“We have to learn it (change our mindset). If Anderson is bowling really well and taking wickets then Kohli is not the only one to be held responsible. Anderson also (should) be praised. This is called sportsman spirit,” he added.

The discipline which I saw among England bowlers was not there in the Indians: Kirti Azad

Speaking about the bowling differences between India and England in Leeds, Kirti Azad observed that the home pacers were far more accurate and used the conditions very well than the visitors. India were bowled out for 78 in their first innings, which England replied with a mammoth total of 432 runs.

“I will talk simple and technical. You will see how the England bowlers kept the ball outside the off-stump and on driving length. It had everything – swing, the use of seam, perfect line and length, how to use the crease and also, how to set up batsmen before removing them. England bowlers were accurate in the first innings.

“Now if we talk about our bowlers, when they bowled, the England batsman did not give the ball a chance to swing. I have also seen one thing in all the Tests, our bowlers will bowl three good balls but then deliver the next on the leg stump… and what happens is the batsman manages to get a run, takes the pressure off. The discipline which I saw among England bowlers was not there in the Indians,” the 1983 World Cup winner stated.

India dominated Day 3. The bowlers first nipped out the remaining two English wickets. While India lost KL Rahul early, Rohit Sharma and Cheteshwar Pujara resurrected the innings with individual fifties before Sharma fell at the start of the third session.

Kohli then joined Pujara and both took India to stumps unscathed any further. India still trail by 139 runs. With two days left in the game, India can certainly fancy a miracle.

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