'He's not getting ahead of the rate' - Ian Bishop has his say on Virat Kohli's struggles

Virat Kohli has been far away from his best lately and his form continues to be a topic of concern in the cricket fraternity. While the Royal Challengers Bangalore batter was among the runs in his last couple of outings, he wasn’t at his fluent best with his strike rate being on the lower side. In his last assignment, the 33-year-old scored 30 off 33 balls before falling prey to off-spinner Moeen Ali.

It was a good-length delivery that spun sharply and pierced Kohli’s defenses to smash the stumps. Giving his take on the great batter’s struggle, former West Indies pacer Ian Bishop stated he’s concerned about the fact that Kohli is finding different ways to get out to different bowlers. Bishop also said if the RCB star is taking too many deliveries early on, he must bat deep, something which he hasn’t been able to do in IPL 2022.

Virat Kohli isn’t going deep into the innings: Ian Bishop

Notably, Kohli, before the match against CSK, scored a half-century against Gujarat Titans but he took 53 balls to score 58 in that innings. He looked reluctant against CSK as well and even managed to get a start but a ripper from Moeen ended his stay at the crease. “If you’re not getting ahead of the rate and going at a run-a-ball, you need to bat deep into the innings,” Ian Bishop told ESPNcricinfo.

“He didn’t get ahead, and there wasn’t much intent. He hit one [six] over extra-cover off the seamer, and that was when he just went ahead to a run-a-ball and then he came back. And he isn’t going deep into the innings either. So those deliveries don’t come back to you. Even if RCB won, that wasn’t an innings, even given the difficulties of the pitch, that you could say caused a match-winning total,” he added.

Bishop further clarified that his statements are mere observation and not criticism and he’s a Kohli fan himself. However, his tendency of getting out to different bowlers has been an area of concern in recent past.

“Roston Chase got him out in the West Indies series, we saw him getting out to the off-spinner in Test matches. So, I’m concerned about and I’m a Kohli fan. I tune in to watch cricket when Kohli’s at his best, so it isn’t criticism but an observation that I am concerned at a number of types of bowlers are getting him out and he’s not getting ahead of the rate,” he stated.

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