The horrors of the 2014 England tour have come to haunt Virat Kohli again as the Indian skipper has been found wanting outside the off-stump in the first two Tests of the ongoing five-match series against England.
Kohli, who had seemed to put those demons behind him in 2018 and amassed 593 runs in 5 Tests, has gotten starts in almost all innings of the ongoing series, but has been dismissed time and again outside the off-stump.
However, former India pacer Ajit Agarkar feels that there is no reason to worry about the pattern of his dismissals, which have come off "really good deliveries".
"Well, Kohli got 600 odd runs in the last series against (hosts) England, with all their bowlers available. So no (reason to worry). He got a great ball from Anderson, the first ball in Nottingham. He fought hard for his 40 odd in the first innings. You bowl outswing to batsmen in the corridor in world cricket, they will struggle, they will nick the ball," Agarkar said in a virtual interaction with journalists organized by the official broadcasters Sony Sports Network.
"These are conditions (in England) where the ball does swing and seam around and bowling on the fourth stump is very difficult to play for most batsmen. And when a bowler’s in a good spell… if you see Sam Curran, the way he dismissed Kohli in second innings was good deception. The ball before it (the dismissal) came back in.
And then played at the one that looked like it was far away from him, and for a left-armer (Curran) it becomes a different angle when it goes away from the batsmen. So he’s got a couple of really good deliveries in the three innings he's batted in. Let's see if there's a pattern but in three innings, you wouldn't want to write off a modern-day great," he further stated.
Furthermore, Agarkar was all praises for the Indian pace department and called the variety in the bowling abilities of India fast bowlers, its biggest asset.
Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, and Ishant Sharma were clinical on the final day of the Lord's Test as they bundled out the hosts for a meager 120, that too in under 60 overs.
"They (pacers) have been sensational. The good thing about the attack is the variety that they have. Bumrah is a little different, quite unique with his action. Shami can bowl on the flattest of wickets and still produce wicket-taking deliveries. Siraj runs in all day, has great skills as well. And Ishant provides you something different being a tall guy. Kohli as captain has been lucky with the fact that there is variety. They’ve all had their moments, so it would be unfair to single out one bowler when all of them have been really good," Agarkar said.
The third Test match between England and India begins on August 25 in Headingley Leeds, with India leading the series 1-0.
