Indian captain Virat Kohli’s childhood coach Rajkumar Sharma has on Tuesday (August 31) reacted to the right-hander’s struggle with the bat in the ongoing five-match Test series against England.
The 32-year-old has managed only 124 runs in the five innings in the first three Tests at an average of 24.8 with only one fifty and his childhood coach credited England for keeping Kohli in check so far in the Test series.
Sharma believes that England bowlers are bowling in the right areas consistently without giving loose deliveries that have made it difficult for Kohli to score runs in the ongoing Test series.
Speaking to IANS, Sharma said ahead of the 4th Test on September 2: “I feel he is playing well since the beginning of the series. Every batsman can get out, you know. England has done their homework, they are bowling in right areas, not giving him loose deliveries.”
He continued, “England is a place where you can get dismissed anytime. The moment the clouds come, the ball moves. The moment the sun is out, the ball stops moving. So you have to concentrate. He has been decisive, especially in the last innings, about which balls to play, which not to. A batsman gets out only when he makes mistake. Credit to England on their consistency.”
Rajkumar Sharma has also admitted that it is not tough to find out ways of keeping a batsman in check nowadays given the modern technology and England bowlers executed their plans very well against the Indian skipper having done great homework.
The coach further explained, “This is an age of videography. You repeatedly see where the batsman is strong, where he is weak. Every team prepares ahead of every series. [Team] Coach explains everything. Sometimes it is not easy to execute those things. But somehow England, because they are getting wickets, they are able to execute too. We are also getting under pressure. Because they are getting wickets at regular intervals, they are able to experiment too.”
He signed off by saying, “You have to ensure you don't chase the ball outside the off-stump. But I have to credit the England bowlers a lot, especially James Anderson. What a great bowler he is. He is able to bowl in one particular area for a long time. There is no short ball to cut or half volley to drive. He is consistent and understands the conditions well. He has the art to swing the late. His quality is great.”
(With IANS Inputs)
