Aaqib Javed also opened up about Virat Kohli’s long-standing poor form with the bat.
Former Pakistan cricketer Aaqib Javed has opened up about Virat Kohli’s prolonged poor form with the bat while sharing views on the comparisons between the Indian batter and Babar Azam, Joe Root, and Kane Williamson.
While Babar is continuing to evolve as a player since making his debut in 2015 and ruling the cricket world with the bat in all three formats of the game, Kohli is already one of the modern-day legends but has not scored an international century since 2019, and for the past two years, his numbers were not great as well.
Well, Javed said that Kohli and the likes of Babar, Root, and Williamson are different types of players and the former Indian skipper is not a technically-sound player given that he has been struggling for a long time and bowlers easily get to know his weaknesses.
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Aaqib Javed said in a YouTube video uploaded by PakTV.tv: “There are two types of great players. One is players who, if they get stuck, their rough patch continues for a long time. The others are technically-sound players, whose rough patch cannot continue that long, like Babar Azam, Kane Williamson, and Joe Root. It is difficult to find their weakness.”
He continued: “Kohli gets stuck at times with the deliveries outside off stump. James Anderson has dismissed him a lot. If he goes to change something, I was watching the match; he is consciously trying to not play away from his body. If you change your technique or flow, the problems will persist. If he plays long innings back-to-back, then he will make a comeback.”
Javed signed off by saying, “Let's take Kohli for an example, if he is not that confident, and India loses against Pakistan, they also face a similar situation like us. If he does not score runs, then questions will be asked on 'why did you play him? Then questions tend to arise why didn't they play an in-form Deepak Hooda, suppose? But in UAE pitches, you are playing in the sub-continent so the chances are there that you might come back into form.”