IND vs ENG: "If You Value The Asset Then Go Easy On Him": Graeme Swann's Advice For Fans Regarding Virat Kohli

In the third T20I against England, Virat Kohli struggled to get going, scoring just 11 runs. His innings got off to the greatest possible start with a boundary and six, but the hitter lost his life by pushing the throttle too hard.

As a result of Kohli’s scores of 1 and 11 in the series against England, the discussion about his future in the T20I setup has heated up.

If You Value The Asset, Then Go Easy On Virat Kohli: Graeme Swann’s Advice To Indian Fans

Former England spinner Graeme Swann has given some advice to Indian supporters, telling them to be kind to Virat Kohli if they appreciate the “asset.”

“Maybe when you have got a player as good as him, if he was English and I was in the English media, I would be saying hey, we need to ease up on him, we need to take pressure off our star asset so that he performs rather than putting more undue pressure on him, just saying,” Swann said on the Sony Sports Network after the third T20I. 

“As a player, you would feel the pressure from fans and fans have a job, that you can make it easier for your players or you can make it harder. If you do not want Virat Kohli in your team anymore, by all means keep on heaping the pressure or if you value the asset, then go easy on him,” he stated further. 

Ajay Jadeja Agrees With Graeme Swann’s Remarks

Swann and former Indian batter Ajay Jadeja both felt that Kohli should be given some more time and that things will only get better for him in the future. 

“It comes with this territory because the expectation is so much, Virat Kohli, we have just gotten used to him scoring runs and hundreds game after game. I am with Swann; he is your asset and you have to let him be. Let him play, you know what you are going to get,” said Ajay Jadeja on Sony Sports Network. 

“You know what is the best of Kohli, at the moment you are probably getting the worst of Virat Kohli. He is only going to get better, I am with Swann, take the pressure of him rather than putting more on him.

Give him a little more time, let him take more time, you are trying out players anyway, why don’t you give him a little extra time,” he added. 

India lost the third T20I by 17 runs because the Rohit Sharma team was unable to successfully chase down 216. The first team to bat, England, scored 215/7 in 20 overs. Liam Livingstone was still undefeated at 42 while Dawid Malan scored the most runs with a knock of 77. Ravi Bishnoi returned for India with two wickets. 

India lost wickets frequently while attempting to chase down 216, and Suryakumar Yadav was the only batsman to stay at the wicket for an extended period of time. In the 20th over, Moeen Ali finally got rid of the batter. 

The three-match ODI series between India and England will get underway on Tuesday at the Oval in London.

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