Inzamam backs Kohli after poor NZ series, Kapil blames captain’s age

Islamabad: Former Pakistan skipper Inzamam-ul-Haq insisted that Virat Kohli should not change his technique while Dev said that the Indian captain may need to start compensating for his age.

Virat Kohli, who has come under scrutiny after India’s Test series loss to New Zealand, found a supporter in former Pakistan captain Inzamam-ul-Haq, who has said that the Indian skipper should not change his technique.

Kohli scored 2, 19, 3 and 14 in the two-match Test series and averaged just 9.50. “A lot of people are talking about Kohli’s technique and so on. I am amazed by all this talk. He has scored 70 centuries in international cricket, how can you question his technique,” Inzamam said on his Youtube channel.

“As a cricketer, I can say that players will encounter a phase when despite his best efforts, runs do not come. (Mohammad) Yusuf had a high backlift, it used to come from gully. When his bad form came, people started questioning his technique. When he came to me, I asked him how did you score so many runs with the same technique?

“The team is not performing. If Kohli is failing, what about the other players? This is just part and parcel of the game and it should be accepted in that particular way,” said the former Pakistan captain.

Adding that Kohli will make a comeback, Inzamam saod, “No need to worry, this phase will pass. Don’t even want to talk about technique. Virat should not change his technique, he is a strong minded player, he should not be hassled. He will make a strong comeback.”

Meanwhile, former Indian captain Kapil Dev believes that a player’s eyesight gets affected after one crosses the age of 30 (Kohli is 31). Speaking to ABP News on Kohli’s forgettable tour, Dev said, “When you reach a certain age, when you cross 30 then it affects your eyesight. In swings, which used to be his strength, he used to flick them four but now he has been dismissed twice. So I think he needs to adjust his eyesight a bit.”

“When big players start getting bowled or LBW to incoming deliveries then you have to tell them to practice more. It shows that your eyes and your reflexes have slowed down a bit and in no time your strengths turn into your weakness,” Dev said.

“From 18-24, your eyesight is at the optimum level but after that, it depends on how you work on it. Sehwag, Dravid, Viv Richards, you name it, all faced similar difficulties in their career. So Kohli needs to practice more. When your eyesight weakens then you have to tighten up your technique more. The same ball which he used pounce on so quickly, he’s getting late on it now,” he added.

On Monday, Kohli snapped at a journalist in the post-match press conference when asked about his animated celebration following Kane Williamson’s dismissal. Earlier in the day, the on-field umpires also warned Indian fielders for trying to confuse Kiwi batsmen.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by The Kashmir Monitor staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)