This will be Kohli's fourth tour of England after 2011, 2014 and 2018
As India set to embark on the grueling Test tour of England on June 2, the legendary all-rounder Kapil Dev has shared a piece of advice for Indian captain Virat Kohli as he cautioned him not to be “over-aggressive” on the testing English conditions.
Kohli hasn’t had much success in England in Test cricket, as the dashing cricketer had managed only 134 runs from 10 innings on his maiden tour of the UK, though, four years later in 2018, he scored a mammoth 593 runs from five Tests, including two centuries and three fifties.
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Well, the India captain is all set for his third tour of England after three years and India’s 1983 World Cup-winning captain has some words of wisdom for Kohli, as he returns to the English shores to win the ICC World Test championship crown for Team India.
Kapil suggested that Kohli should be patient with his strokeplay while facing the moving ball in English conditions in the upcoming Test matches.
India is scheduled to take on New Zealand in the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) final on June 18 in Southampton and then England in a five-match Test series in August-September 2021.
Ahead of the crucial England tour, the Indian legend suggested Kohli should wait for his moments and not “try too hard and too early” as the conditions favor the pacers in England to succeed there.
Kapil Dev told Mid-Day: “I expect him to excel. Can you really shackle him? He is a natural when it comes to adapting but I would caution him to not be over-aggressive. He will have to measure it session by session. He'll be better off waiting for his moments of dominance.”
The former all-rounder further added, “He will get his runs with a bit of patience. Trying too hard and too early doesn’t work in England where you need to watch the movement of the ball. If you play seam and swing well, show patience, you will succeed in England.”
He admitted that Team India played exceptionally good cricket in recent times, but they shouldn’t forget England will be really tough to beat in their home conditions.
He signed off by saying, “We played exceptionally good cricket. I want this team to remember that England in England is tough. They are a very good team when playing at home but then, it will also depend on how the Indian bowlers adapt to the conditions and pitches. The swing will be very rewarding and here I feel England is one step ahead of India.”