Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma are both going through a lean period. While the former hasn’t scored a ton since November 2019, the latter failed to score half a century in 14 consecutive games in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022. Now both senior Indian batters are expected to perform well in the upcoming Tour of England, starting with a test game in Birmingham from July 1. It is a rescheduled test match that will determine the fate of the unfinished series between India and England that was disrupted in 2021 due to a COVID-19 outbreak. Ahead of the series, Kapil Dev, the 1983 World Cup winner, gave his take on the form of both players.
During a discussion on a YouTube channel, Dev was told by the anchor that many people tell him not to analyze Kohli’s form because he hasn’t played cricket.
To which Dev replied, “Even I haven’t played as much cricket as Virat Kohli. Then we can never criticize these players because we haven’t played that much cricket. That’s wrong. We’ve played cricket and we understand the And after I’ve got the game understood, I feel like they need to correct their own thought process somewhere, not ours.
“If you prove us wrong, we’ll be happy. If you don’t score points, we feel something is wrong somewhere. Maybe there’s too much cricket. If there’s too much cricket, talk to yourself and if there’s cricket is too little, talk to yourself too,” Kapil Dev added on the Uncut YouTube channel.
“We only see one thing and that’s your performance. And if the performance isn’t there, how many people can you stop talking? You can’t. Your bat and your performance must speak, nothing more.”
promoted
When asked about Kohli’s century drought, Kapil Dev said: “I also ask the same thing: such a big player and such a big gap. It also bothers me because he is like a hero to us. We used to think that we can never find a player who can compare with Rahul Dravid, Sunil Gavaskar, Virender Sehwag. But Kohli forced us to compare him with them. But for the past two years, he hasn’t. That’s why I’m worried. I think that he must mentally improve his cricket.”
Kapil Dev also spoke of Rohit not getting half a century in the IPL. “The player is brilliant. But if you don’t score fifty in 14 games, there will be question marks. Whether it’s Gary Sobers, or Don Bradman, or Sachin, or Virat Kohli or Vivian Richards or Sunil Gavaskar. If a great player like “He, doesn’t score in so many games that there will be question marks. Only Rohit Sharma can answer what’s going on with him. Players like him and Virat Kohli should enjoy the game.”
Topics mentioned in this article