Former India cricketer Aakash Chopra tried to analyse Virat Kohli’s form on Monday, saying the former captain should be an “executor” rather than an “accumulator” and explained how the brand of cricket will fit in with new white captain Rohit Sharma. “Liberate” him as a hitter.
Speaking on the Star Sports show The Game Plan ahead of the three-match ODI series between India and West Indies, Akash believes that while Kohli hasn’t been at his destructive best lately, he hasn’t going through tough times. He further added that unlike cricket greats such as Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid, he wanted Kohli to be an enforcer and not just accumulate runs.
“From a personal and personal standpoint, you want to turn this 50s into a 100s because you also have to save something for the rainy days. He’s not in bad shape, so to speak, as far as running is concerned, But when you see him hitting the ball, you don’t see the same Virat Kohli. He’s not imposing, he’s not dominating, he’s still fumbling around, he’s scoring, that’s what all great players do – we see Sachin, Rahul – we have seen them accumulating runs, but he (Virat Kohli) is not the accumulator, he is the executer but he is not yet,” he said.
The veteran cricketer is also keen to see how new ODI captain Rohit will “prove his authority” in the upcoming series and how Kohli will adapt to it. Aakash believes that being part of a different set-up and philosophy will “liberate” Kohli, as captain’s responsibility is now off his shoulders.
“But one thing I really want to see is that now Rohit Sharma will have his stamp of authority and the brand of cricket he wants to play. Virat Kohli has to follow the same philosophy. Once you have a different philosophy , sometimes it just liberates you because you’re not really thinking, ‘Okay, I need to score, or I need to do this. This is what we all have to do together. This is what I’m waiting to see , whether it releases and liberates Virat Kohli, whether you hit 50 but score 50 on 55 balls, don’t worry about scoring a century, ending the game, as captain, you’ve done it all. It’s no longer Your only job, your job description has changed a bit,” he explained.
The ODI series will begin on February 6 with all matches at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
Complete News Source : Hindustan Times
