Virat Kohli to be troubled the whole series if he doesn’t leave balls outside the off-stump: Sanjay Manjrekar

Former Indian cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar said that Virat Kohli will keep straining with the bat if he doesn’t leave balls outside the off-stump. In the ongoing series against England, Kohli has got out several times while poking at deliveries, which he should be leaving alone. The likes of James Anderson and Ollie Robinson have gotten under his skin plenty of times.

Manjrekar said that Virat should look to take a leaf out of the way he played back in 2018. The veteran said that Kohli’s front-foot play has made average bowlers look like world-beaters. In three Tests in the series thus far, Virat has scored 124 runs at an average of 24.80.

Sanjay Manjrekar opines

“Virat currently is grappling with his issue outside off, 2014 is coming back to haunt Virat and if he does not leave balls as he did in 2018, he is likely to be troubled the whole series,” Manjrekar wrote in his column for the Hindustan Times.

“Or, he could not be so obsessed with getting onto the front foot no matter what and make his life easier and the bowlers’ more difficult. His front foot play is just making him graft more and even average bowlers who bowl around good length are making the great batter scavenge for runs,” he stated.

Previously, former England skipper Nasser Hussain said that Virat has struggled to face the swinging new ball. Hussain said that Kohli has a slight ‘technical issue’ and should be leaving balls outside the off-stump.

“He [Kohli] did go through a spell on the third day, admittedly against an older ball, where he was leaving it well. But it’s harder to leave the new ball because it swings later, and he was out again on Saturday in a familiar manner,” Hussain wrote in his column for Daily Mail.

Hussain said that Kohli has suffered from indecision whether to play or leave balls. Kohli’s opposite number, Joe Root, is currently the leading run-scorer of the series with 507 runs at an average of 126.75.

The fourth Test is scheduled to get underway on September 2 at the Kennington Oval in London. The Old Trafford in Manchester will host the final Test.