Virat Kohli Should Do What Sachin Tendulkar Did At Sydney: Sunil Gavaskar
Virat Kohli Should Do What Sachin Tendulkar Did At Sydney: Sunil Gavaskar

Former Indian batsman Sunil Gavaskar has suggested out-of-form Indian skipper Virat Kohli to consult batting legend, Sachin Tendulkar. Kohli fell to his arch-nemesis James Anderson in the first hour on Day 1 of the Headingley Test between England and India.

Kohli has been constantly getting dismissed chasing deliveries that should be left alone at this level of Test cricket. Gavaskar, who is doing commentary for the match, pointed out a similar issue Tendulkar had and the way he overcame it in the famous Sydney knock.

In the 2003-04 series against Australia, Tendulkar displayed great determination and grit in the fourth Test at Sydney. He dropped the cover drive on the off side completely and targeted the leg side of the wicket. This bore fruit as he scored a marathon unbeaten knock of 241 off 436 balls. It helped India set up 705/7 on the board, although a spirited fightback from the Aussies forced the game to be drawn eventually.

He [Kohli] should give a quick call to SRT [Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar] and ask ‘what should I do?’. [He should try to] do what Sachin Tendulkar did at Sydney. Say to himself that ‘I am not going to play the cover drive’,” Gavaskar stated.

Sachin Tendulkar, Virat Kohli, Sunil Gavaskar
Sachin Tendulkar, Virat Kohli (Photo: Twitter)

The dismissal was also the seventh time that Kohli fell to Anderson in Tests. It’s the joint-highest number of times a bowler has dismissed Kohli, the other bowler being Australia’s off-spinner Nathan Lyon.

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“That is a bit of a worry for me” – Sunil Gavaskar on the way Virat Kohli is getting out

While continuing to point out the flaws in Kohli’s batting at the moment, Gavaskar reckoned that the 32-year-old has been chasing deliveries well wide of off-stump which has expectedly brought about his downfall in the last few Tests.

That is a bit of a worry for me because he is getting dismissed at the fifth, sixth, and even seventh stump. In 2014, he was getting out more around the off-stump,” Gavaskar asserted.

James Anderson, Virat Kohli
James Anderson after picking up Virat Kohli’s wicket. (Image: Twitter)

Especially in moving conditions like most of England’s grounds, going for expansive drives is never the right approach. So far, Kohli has just made 69 runs in four innings, with a highest of 42. If India is to win the series, Kohli and the middle-order needs to fire.

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