Virat Kohli should bat with an open stance initially to negotiate inswinging deliveries: Wasim Akram

Legendary Pakistan bowler Wasim Akram came up with advice for Virat Kohli after the latter’s indifferent scoring form in the ongoing IPL 2022. Kohli played a good hand with an unbeaten 29-ball 41 in a high-scoring game against the Punjab Kings. However, he failed in the game against Kolkata Knight Riders, scoring just 12 runs. Despite being one of the modern-day greats, Kohli has been going through a rough patch across formats lately.

The right-hander is yet to score an international century since November 2019 which is really surprising given that he already has 70 centuries to his name across formats. He has found different ways to get out in recent times. Notably, he has stepped down from captaincy as well which should have provided ample time for him to work out his batting form again. The 33-year-old has remained a fighter throughout his career and is expected to bounce back soon with a bang.

Won’t be easy to stop him if Virat Kohli survives a couple of overs: Wasim Akram

Meanwhile, Akram mentioned that Kohli should play with an open stance in the first two overs to negotiate the inswinging deliveries and noted that it would be better to play with the straight bat against the left-arm seamers that have troubled him. Akram added Kohli would be unstoppable if he survives the first couple of overs. It has to be noted Kohli has the most runs by a batter in IPL history, scoring 6336 runs in 210 matches.

“I think Kohli should bat with an open stance initially, just for the first couple of overs to negotiate the incoming delivery. With this, the inswinging delivery will not hit his pads. He can play straight with this stance. I think this is what Virat should do early on if he feels he is struggling against the left-armers,” said Akram on VUSport Streaming YouTube channel.

“If a player like Kohli survives the first couple of overs, then I do not think it would be easy to stop him,” he added.