Not Good Batting Virat Kohli! Michael Vaughan Suggests Indian Skipper To Get Back Into Alignment While Batting

Former England cricketer Michael Vaughan is not impressed with the way Indian skipper Virat Kohli has batted in the ongoing Test series against England so far. Michael Vaughan said that Kohli is not able to judge the position of his off-stump and needs to get back into alignment while batting. Vaughan’s words came after Kohli once again lost his wicket at slips while getting an edge on the off-side.

In the 2^nd innings of ongoing India vs England 2^nd Test at Lord’s, Kohli came out to bat when Indian openers Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul lost their wickets cheaply at 21 and 5 runs respectively. Just before the lunch, the right-handed batsman nicked a delivery of Sam Curran which was far away from the off-stump.

An easy catch by wicketkeeper Jos Buttler sent the Indian skipper to the pavilion after scoring just 20, pushing India to a stressful score of 55/3. In the 1^st innings too, Kohli had got an edge at an outswinger by pacer Ollie Robinson.

Not Good Batting Virat Kohli, Says Michael Vaughan

While speaking on BBC’s Podcast, former England skipper Michael Vaughan criticized Virat Kohli for poor batting show and losing his wicket easily in the ongoing series. He advised the Indian skipper to get back into alignment while batting.

“Really good bowling, not good batting. Virat Kohli is a better player than that. When he had success in English conditions, he was knowing exactly where his off-stump is. His trigger movement goes over to the off-stump and he knows where it is.

“So far in this series, I just wonder whether he lost his off-stump because he is going over quite a long way and his head is going with him because of that, I think he thinks his off-stump is around the fourth and fifth stump line. He needs to get back into alignment,” Vaughan said.

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The cricket commentator Vaughan also pointed out Kohli has repeatedly fallen for England’s plan of bowling him outside off-stump.

 “He played at a wide ball from the pavilion end and you would think, that’s exactly where England want you to be Virat. They are going to bowl the fifth stump, full of length. And they want him to throw his hands at the ball as he did today,” Vaughan further said.

Virat Kohli has suffered a poor show in the Test format since the start of 2020. At an average under 24, he has piled up 407 runs in 17 innings with just 3 fifties during the tenure. In the ongoing Test tour against England, the 32-year-old player accounts for 62 runs across 3 innings of the 2 Test matches.

Meanwhile, India rails at 181-6 in the 2^nd innings in the ongoing Lord’s Test, leading by 154 runs. Rishabh Pant is the only batsman for India yet to lose his wicket. All the other mainline batsmen have departed to the pavilion. Ishant Sharma is positioned on the strike with Pant while bowlers Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, and Mohammed Siraj await their call to the crease.