A great batsman who has been the leading scorer for Team India through the years, ever since he stepped on to the pitch as a precocious talent, has barely got into double figures before getting out in the Ind vs SL ODI series having scored just 24 and 12. The question arises – did Virat Kohli not prepare adequately as a batsman for the Sri Lankan bowlers, the pitch conditions and more that he will find in the series?
For now, Team India finds itself looking at a series defeat in Sri Lanka against an opposition that, on paper at least, does not look even half as strong as the vaunted Indian side. In fact, the Indians should have been doing fine even without the likes of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli in the team. But the Sri Lankans have proved themselves to be veritable tigers at home.
So, what happened to Virat Kohli? In fairness to the legend, right now, he should not have been in Sri Lanka at all, but back home in India with his family. The man had just won the T20 World Cup for India and was expecting some well-deserved rest. However, he was given the marching orders by coach Gautam Gambhir, so to speak, to come to Sri Lanka. That was a massive surprise.
Since he is a professional, he did come to Lanka, even if he was looking quite dour on landing there. But more than that, the problem would be the fact that Kohli had trained for the T20 series and not for the ODI series. The approach is quite different. Also, the conditions in the pitches provided for the world cup were totally different to the conditions in Lanka. The lack of preparation in both mind and spirit may well be affecting the batsman.
While Virat Kohli has been affected to an extent, the same cannot be said about captain Rohit Sharma. The man has been batting well and had set the perfect foundation for a win in the 2nd ODI before the other batsmen and bowlers simply threw the match away. Not just bat, Sharma even bowled! This will surely be some great grist to the mills of all those fans who like to compare both.
However, having said that, coach Gautam Gambhir would be expecting Virat Kohli to fire in the last ODI that India just cannot afford to lose. And being the batsman he is, expectations are that he will step confidently onto the ground.
Key takeaways
Batsman’s Background
Recent Performance
Key Question
Focus Areas
What ails Virat Kohli in Sri Lanka? The batsman has contributed very few runs in the Ind vs SL ODI series. Cricket Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
