Former India assistant coach Abhishek Nayar has thrown his support behind Virat Kohli, who is enduring a tough run in the ongoing ODI series against Australia. Kohli, who registered consecutive ducks in the first two matches, has faced criticism for his form, but Nayar believes the star batter’s mental toughness and experience will help him finish the series on a high.
“𝒀𝒐𝒖 𝒂𝒍𝒘𝒂𝒚𝒔 𝒔𝒂𝒚 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒏𝒆𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒓𝒖𝒃 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒈𝒓𝒆𝒆𝒏. 𝑯𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒔 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒉𝒂𝒅 𝒊𝒕 𝒚𝒆𝒕. 𝑻𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒅𝒐𝒆𝒔𝒏’𝒕 𝒎𝒆𝒂𝒏 𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒂𝒏’𝒕. 𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒕𝒘𝒐 𝒛𝒆𝒓𝒐𝒆𝒔, 𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒉𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒅𝒐 𝒊𝒔 𝒂𝒅𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒐𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒊𝒅𝒆. 𝑰𝒕 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒕𝒂𝒌𝒆 𝒂 𝒍𝒐𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒈𝒓𝒊𝒕 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒅𝒆𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒉𝒊𝒎,” 𝑵𝒂𝒚𝒂𝒓 𝒔𝒂𝒊𝒅 𝒐𝒏 𝑺𝒕𝒂𝒓 𝑺𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒔’ 𝑮𝒂𝒎𝒆 𝑷𝒍𝒂𝒏.
Nayar reminded fans of Virat’s past comebacks, citing how he turned his fortunes around in England after a dismal 2014 series. The former coach said that if anyone can overcome this rough patch, it’s the 36-year-old batting legend.
“𝑨 𝑽𝒊𝒓𝒂𝒕 𝑲𝒐𝒉𝒍𝒊 𝒅𝒐𝒆𝒔𝒏’𝒕 𝒃𝒆𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒆 𝒂 𝑽𝒊𝒓𝒂𝒕 𝑲𝒐𝒉𝒍𝒊 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒇𝒂𝒊𝒍𝒖𝒓𝒆𝒔. 𝑯𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒔 𝒅𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒃𝒆𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒆. 𝑯𝒆 𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒖𝒈𝒈𝒍𝒆𝒅 𝒊𝒏 𝑬𝒏𝒈𝒍𝒂𝒏𝒅, 𝒄𝒂𝒎𝒆 𝒃𝒂𝒄𝒌, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒒𝒖𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝒊𝒕. 𝑰𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆’𝒔 𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒚𝒆𝒓 𝑰’𝒅 𝒃𝒆𝒕 𝒐𝒏 𝒕𝒐 𝒃𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒃𝒂𝒄𝒌, 𝒊𝒕’𝒔 𝑽𝒊𝒓𝒂𝒕,” 𝑵𝒂𝒚𝒂𝒓 𝒂𝒅𝒅𝒆𝒅.
“Most batters would struggle with that delivery” – Nayar on Virat’s Adelaide dismissal
Discussing Kohli’s dismissal in the second ODI, Nayar credited Xavier Bartlett for delivering an exceptional ball that would trouble even the best in the world. He pointed out that Kohli’s technical approach to reading the seam made him susceptible to Bartlett’s movement.
“To be honest, regardless of Virat getting out or not, that was a terrific delivery. The seam position suggested the ball would move away, but it nipped back in sharply. Even top batters would’ve struggled with that,” Nayar observed.
Despite his early exits, Nayar remains confident that Kohli will produce a strong performance in the third ODI at the Sydney Cricket Ground on October 25, showing the same grit that has defined his career.
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