Kapil Dev pitched in on Virat Kohli’s lean patch of form and said that he thinks the former skipper needs to improve his game “mentally”.
Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma are both going through a lean patch. While the former has not scored a ton since November, 2019, the latter could not hit a half-century in 14 successive matches in the Indian Premier league (IPL) 2022. Now both the senior Indian batters will be expected to perform well in the upcoming Tour of England, starting with a Test match in Birmingham from July 1. It is rescheduled Test match which will decide the fate of the unfinished series between India and England that got disrupted in 2021 due to a COVID-19 outbreak. Ahead of the series, 1983 world Cup-winning captain Kapil Dev gave his take on both players’ form.
During a discussion on a YouTube channel, Dev was told by the anchor that many people tell him not to analyse Kohli’s form since he has not played cricket.
To which, Dev replied: “Even I haven’t played cricket as much as Virat Kohli. Then we cannot criticise these players ever, because we haven’t played that much cricket. That is wrong. We have played cricket and we understand the game. And after understanding the game I feel, somewhere or the other, they need to correct their own thought process, not ours.
“If you prove us wrong, we will be glad. If you don’t score runs, we feel there is something wrong somewhere. Maybe there is too much cricket. If there is too much cricket talk to yourself and if there is too less cricket, then also talk to yourself,” Kapil Dev added on Uncut YouTube channel.
“We only see one thing and that’s your performance. And if the performance is not there, how many people can you stop from talking? That is not possible. Your bat and your performance should speak, nothing else.”
When asked about Kohli’s century drought, Kapil Dev said: “I am also asking the same thing: Such a big player and such a big gap. I am also bothered with it because he is like a hero to us. We used to think that we can never find a player to compared to Rahul Dravid, Sunil Gavaskar, Virender Sehwag. But Kohli forced us to compare him with them. But last two years he has not done so. Hence, I am bothered. I think mentally he needs to improve his cricket.”
Kapil Dev also spoke on Rohit not getting a half-century in the IPL. “The player is brilliant. But if you don’t score a fifty in 14 matches, there will be question marks. Be it Gary Sobers, or Don Bradman, or Sachin, or Virat Kohli or Vivian Richards or Sunil Gavaskar. If a big player like him, doesn’t score runs in so many matches there will be question marks. Only Rohit Sharma can answer what is happening with him. Players like him and Virat Kohli should enjoy the game.”
Source:ndtv.com