England vs India 2021: Virat Kohli Has Not Shown Patience Like The England Bowlers, Says Sanjay Bangar

Former Indian cricketer Sanjay Bangar feels the lack of patience against England bowlers has been the cause of the failures for Virat Kohli in the ongoing 5-match Test series between England and India. Although Kohli scored a fifty in India’s second innings at Headingley, he couldn’t kick on because of a lapse in concentration.

Until the fifty, Virat had scored a total of 69 runs in four innings with a high score of 42. He looked patchy in all the innings and has been dismissed nicking the ball in every single innings. This is a major point of concern, and it is mostly down to Kohli’s attacking instincts very early on, as per Bangar.

“The bottom line as far as I am concerned is that Virat Kohli has not shown the patience that England bowlers have shown against him. That was the only difference. He has not got out defending a lot of times.”

“He has gone towards the ball in all his dismissals. If you see his dismissals from 2014, he did not get out playing the drive as many times as he got out defending. I feel he is playing the sixth or seventh stump delivery, which is not required to be played,” Bangar pointed out.

“Virat Kohli’s aggressive thinking is causing him problems” – Irfan Pathan

Another former cricketer Irfan Pathan believes the problem is not with the Indian skipper’s technique but mostly his aggressive nature of wanting to dominate opposition bowlers. Kohli generally looks to impose himself on the bowlers but in conditions like England, it’s a tough proposition.

“I feel more than the preparation, Virat Kohli looking to dominate is forcing him to play deliveries outside off-stump. It is just that small thing. More than technical, Virat Kohli’s aggressive thinking is causing him problems,” Pathan said.

Anjum Chopra on the other hand reasoned that Kohli is trying to play error-free which is an extremely difficult task in England. There’s always a factor of luck in the UK, and it’s something the 32-year-old should accept.

“He also knows that he has to score runs. But the thing about error-free batting, that he will make a statement is putting more weight on his shoulders and maybe not allowing him to move freely. I feel he needs to bring his standard slightly lower than the error-free batting he is trying to do,” Anjum stated.

Kohli needs to contribute in order to boost the middle-order which has performed under-par so far. With the series level at 1-1, the teams head to The Oval for the fourth Test starting on September 2.

Also Read – India vs England 2021: James Anderson Could Be Rested For The Oval Test