Legendary cricketer's father cites Gautam Gambhir's role in Virat Kohli's poor run

India's veteran cricketer Virat Kohli is going through a bad patch of form. The 36-year-old had a disappointing run in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy as he was constantly troubled by the balls outside off stump.

Looking at his lean run, former India cricketer Yograj Singh opened up about the role of the head coach Gautam Gambhir. Yograj feels that Gambhir needs to step in and guide Kohli about his mistakes.

Virat Kohli was dismissed to the balls outside off stump on all eight occasions this series. As the series went on, the problems kept growing for him as his weakness was constantly targeted by some relentless Australian bowling attack.

Also read: BCCI compels Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli to play ODI series against England

Gautam Gambhir's role in Virat Kohli's poor run

During a conversation with news agency IANS, Yograj Singh spoke about the role of a head coach in such situations. He called for better man-management skills for international players rather than coaching.

"The role of a coach becomes a significant question when you are playing for India. When you're an exceptional player representing India, you might not necessarily need coaching in the traditional sense. What you truly need is someone for man management," Yograj said.

"Sometimes, a player's mind gets blocked; they might not be scoring runs, or they keep getting out. No matter how great a player is, they can't be bigger than the game itself," he added.

Yograj feels that Gautam Gambhir needs to guide Kohli about playing straight or leaving the balls rather than going for them outside off stump. He advised Kohli needs to restrain himself from playing such shots on bouncy and seaming conditions.

"Such players need someone to guide them, to say, 'Let's go to the nets and work on this'. For example, Virat Kohli got out many times playing his favourite shot - the right-hand push," Singh noted.

"That shot works on Indian pitches, in England, and elsewhere. But on certain pitches where the ball bounces and carries more, someone should have told him, 'Virat, don't play this shot'. Just play straight or leave this ball," he added.

"Every player faces a downfall" - Yograj Singh

Further speaking about the difference between coaching and management, Yograj Singh believes that Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli need to be told about the mistakes by the coaching staff.

"This illustrates the difference between coaching and management. Identifying and pointing out a player's technical fault is coaching. Someone needs to recognise and convey these technical issues to the players," Yograj observed.

"But who will tell Rohit Sharma or Virat Kohli? Even they want someone to come and tell them what's going wrong," he claimed.

Yograj also feels that the players must be given confidence by the coaching staff to perform. According to him, a player will have times when he won't be in form but it is all part of the game.

"I believe what's needed is proper management - someone who understands when a player's mind is blocked, when they're feeling low, and reassures them, saying, 'Don't worry, we're here for you. You'll do it because you're a great player.' Every player faces a downfall, even the greatest ones. It's part of the game," Yuvraj Singh's father said.

Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma's poor form

Virat Kohli scored 190 runs in five Tests at an average of just 23.75 throughout the course of the series. All of his dismissals were to the balls outside off stump. On the other hand, Rohit Sharma too was in poor form as he aggregated just 31 runs in three Tests at 6.20.

The poor form of these senior players has raised questions about their future in Test cricket. There are calls for their retirement from a few former cricketers, however, both are likely to continue for now.