Australia vs India 2018/19: Virat Kohli Surprised By Criticism Towards Mitchell Starc

Of late, the premium fast bowler of Australia, Mitchell Starc is under the pump by the cricket analysts and the fans. He was on the wrong side of things, as he failed to replicate his mojo against Indian batting order. Regarding the same, the Indian skipper Virat Kohli backs Mitchell Starc to come good and asks people to stop criticising him.

Across the four matches, Starc took 13 wickets at 34.53. His best innings figures were 3-40, and he was heavily criticised for his erratic bowling more than once. However, Virat Kohli believes that Starc is still the best, who lost a bit of confidence.

The super fast bowler Starc also bagged an unwanted record in the final Test for bowling the most overs (26) by an Australian in an innings without a maiden in a home Test since Australia reverted to six-ball overs in 1979-80.

You don’t want to lose a guy like Mitchell Starc – Virat Kohli

The Indian skipper quoted that he is pretty much surprised to see Mitchell Starc facing the criticism from their own people. He added that Starc has been their best bowler over the years and he feels this is a time they should give their thumbs up for the southpaw.

Further, he believes that it was their batsmen, who tackled Mitchell Starc decently.  Virat Kohli also gave an example when they played Pat Cummins decent enough when he was firing those uncomfortable lines and lengths.

“I wouldn’t say they have bowled badly. I would look at it as though we have batted well. They have always bowled in areas which are challenging to you as a batsman. But I feel that we have batted really well. Cummins bowled a spell to me and Pujara, a nine-over spell in Adelaide, and we hardly got eight runs in that spell. So we played it out well. I think their bowling has been absolutely fine from where I see it. We have also struggled when our batsmen don’t put runs on the board,” Virat Kohli quoted.

”He is a very skilful bowler, he has got the right mindset. Starc has been your number one bowler for years now. I am a little surprised with the magnitude of the criticism that has come to him. If he is your best bowler, you give him space to work things out and not mount more pressure on him, because you don’t want to lose a guy like that who is so skilled and wins games,” he added.

Well, as Virat Kohli said, it is the matter of time for Mitchell Starc to be back at his best. Meanwhile, the cricket pundits have to take a rest from throwing stones at Starc, who served the team exceptionally during his good days.