Sachin Tendulkar Would Never Get Out On Low Pitches, Whereas Virat Kohli Did: Rashid Latif

Virat Kohli’s batting woes at the international level have been the talking point over the last couple of years as India’s run machine hasn’t delivered up to its potential. Kohli amassed 841 runs in his last 30 Test innings since 2020 with six 50-plus scores.

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Kohli’s dismissals have often led to criticism as he goes away from his body to chase the ball pitching wide outside off-stump. During India’s tour of England last year, the star Indian batter fell to James Anderson and Ollie Robinson in a similar manner.

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To counter this weakness, Kohli was seen leaving balls anything that was out of his reach during the third Test against South Africa, however, it dipped his scoring rate as he managed 79 off 201 balls in the first innings followed by 143-ball 29.

Virat Kohli always used to go across the stumps: Rashid Latif

In the Sri Lanka Test series, Kohli was dismissed by three different spinners. Former Pakistan captain Rashid Latif pointed out that Kohli tries to play across the line and pokes the ball behind the stumps and reckoned that only Sachin Tendulkar could play well on tepid pitches.

“When I speak about Virat, he always used to go across the stumps. But he never believed in date, stats, coaching. He is a great player but got caught. A bottom hand player who goes across, he got caught there. That is why when the ball goes away, he would have a problem,” Latif said on YouTube channel ‘Caught Behind’. 

“Recently, Sri Lanka came to India for a Test series.  The ball was kept low. On such low pitches, Sachin would never get out, whereas Virat did. Tendulkar would change his strategy. He would come inside the crease if it’s spinning too much, and vice-versa. Sachin has had this problem a few times – like Asif dismissed him in Karachi (2006), but most often he would adjust. So this is the difference if I have to compare (Kohli and Tendulkar). On poor pitches, there is no batsman better than Sachin. 

“I recall once South Africa came to India. The pitch was breaking. He came close to the wicket and lengthened the length. And boy, he batted so well. He scored some 40-50 runs but it was outstanding. So, this is the difference between the two and that is the fault (in Kohli’s batting). And I’m sure he will be working on it. He is a great player. Once he gets out of this slump, he will give you 10 centuries a year,” he added. 

Kohli is currently playing for Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in the IPL 2022, the Bold Army will face rivals Chennai Super Kings on Tuesday at Dr. DY Patil Sports Academy.

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