'He was risk averse but not anymore' - Aakash Chopra on concern around Virat Kohli's batting

Virat Kohli is one of the greatest batters in the modern-day game. He holds numerous batting records at the highest level courtesy of his consistent performances in the last decade. However, Kohli has not looked in great touch in the last two years having failed to register even a single century. Even though the 33-year-old has succeeded in scoring fifties, he has been unable to convert them into big knocks.

Now, former India Test opener Aakash Chopra has come forward and said that Kohli has not been playing with a risk-free approach in the recent past and that is the reason why he cannot score big which is certainly a thing to worry about for the Indian team. In the ongoing home limited-overs series against the West Indies, the batting megastar could only manage 26 runs from three games including a duck. He had scored just 17 in the first T20I.

Virat Kohli never used to do like this earlier: Aakash Chopra

“Virat Kohli never used to do like this earlier, that if a six is not required, he never used to hit it and scored through singles or fours. He was risk-averse, that he will not play the risky shots at all. That is what Virat was all about but now he is not playing like that and that is a bit of a concern,” said Aakash Chopra on his YouTube channel.

“The way Kohli got out, discipline was making him the greatest batter on the planet, what would have happened if that shot had gone for a six? Nothing would have happened, you wouldn’t have won the match because of that six. But when you get out, the team is also stuck slightly”, he added.

“Kohli did not score runs again and the way he is getting out, that’s very unlike him. We are doing very little conversation about Virat Kohli, which is never a good thing. We are not even talking about him, that is hurting me, that must be hurting him,” the cricketer-turned-cricket pundit further added.

Coming back to the first game, a disciplined bowling performance from the Indian bowlers restricted the West Indies to 157/7 from their 20 overs. In reply, skipper Rohit Sharma and his opening partner Ishan Kishan made a statement with a 64-run opening stand before the middle-order duo of Suryakumar Yadav and Venkatesh Iyer helped the hosts in getting past the finish line by six wickets. The second T20I will be played at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Friday, February 18.