ENG vs IND: Virat Kohli Has To Clear His Mind - Geoffrey Boycott
Updated - 07 Jul 2022, 02:05 PM
Former England player Geoffrey Boycott said Virat Kohli should value his wicket and concentrate more on batting to avoid minor errors. Kohli made 11 and 20 in the rescheduled fifth Test against England.
In the first innings, Kohli moved forward to defend Matthew Potts’ full-length delivery but in the end, he shouldered the arms and found the inside edge that dragged onto his stumps.
Virat Kohli dismissed against Ben Stokes’ brilliant delivery
Kohli seemed in great touch with his willow in the second innings, scoring 20 runs off 40 balls with four boundaries before he was stunned by a jaffa from England skipper Ben Stokes.
It was a good length delivery that extracted some extra bounce on the surface and made it unplayable for the former Indian skipper, who lunged forward to defend but the ball popped his glove and Joe Root, positioned at first slip, grabbed it seconds within keeper Sam Billings dropped it.
Virat Kohli has to reduce the number of mistakes: Geoffrey Boycott
Kohli’s lean patch has haunted him for the last two years and Boycott suggested the former Indian skipper be more cautious and take small steps to regain form. Although Kohli hasn’t reached the three-figure mark in international cricket since November 2019, Boycott asks him not to chase the big scores but rather set small targets.
“Kohli dragged the ball onto the stumps since he was in two minds. He should have come forward, but he could not decide how to handle it. He has to clear his mind in this regard. He is not looking fluent and should realise that when someone is not in good touch, he should be extra cautious. He has to reduce the number of mistakes, must concentrate more and value his wicket,” Boycott told Mid-Day.
“The moment he starts doing that [concentrating], the mistakes will be minimised. He should not think about big scores. Let the targets be small, take more singles and get acclimatised. Runs will give him confidence which is essential at the moment. It’s a mental game and it’s a pity that such a big player is not among the runs,” he added.
India lost the rescheduled fifth Test by seven wickets and failed to win their first Test series in England since 2007. Kohli has been rested for the first T20 International match against England and will return to the white-ball squad for the second game on July 9 in Birmingham.
Tagged:
Geoffrey Boycott Virat Kohli