Sunil Gavaskar expresses worry about Virat Kohli’s tendency to get out while playing with an open face of the bat.
During the recent Australian tour, the 36-year-old Kohli faced difficulties against pacers bowling in the corridor outside off-stump, and his struggles continued in the Champions Trophy as he managed only 22 runs before getting out in India’s first match against Bangladesh on Thursday.
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“It is to a great extent due to the fact that the bat face opens up, the same thing happens when he’s playing against the quicks in Australia,” Gavaskar said talking to India today.
“The bat face is opening up, looking to play through the covers, opening the face of the bat, that gets him into trouble. So that is something that he’s got to watch out for.”
In ODIs, the dismissal against Bangladesh’s Rishad Hossain is Kohli’s sixth straight against spinners, following his previous challenges against England’s Adil Rashid during the series played at home.
Kohli was dismissed while trying to cut Hossain, only to be caught by Soumya Sarkar at backward point.
“A couple of times before he got out, he reached for Rishad, the ball turned, the bat face opened, and luckily the bat face opened, and so there was no nick. So that is something that he’ll have to tighten up on now,” Gavaskar added.
“But yes, I guess if you’re getting out to the same kind of bowling, then you know, there is a bit of concern.”
After beating Bangladesh by 6 wickets to open their Champions Trophy campaign, India will meet traditional rivals Pakistan on Sunday in their second match of Group A.
Pakistan lost the tournament opener to New Zealand by 60 runs and face a must-win situation in the high-pressure match against India.