India ace batter Virat Kohli scored a half century in the match against Hong Kong in Asia Cup 2022. After his performance in that match, many believed that he was looking in a better form after the lean patch but former India opener Wasim Jaffer believes that he still lacks the “fluency” in his gameplay.
“I am still worried about his fluency. His fluency is still not there. You know what we have seen before. I don’t think we are seeing that fluency yet, even though he got runs,” Jaffer told ESPNcricinfo.
“Anybody who is not batting at a 140 or 150 strike rate with Virat Kohli then I think India is in trouble,” Jaffer further said.
Kohli scored an unbeaten 59 off 44 balls in the match against Hong Kong and earlier in the match against Pakistan, he made an important 35 off 34 deliveries. Though he scored with a much-improved strike-rate in the Wednesday’s match with Suryakumar Yadav, who produced an explosive performance of unbeaten 68 off 28 deliveries, but Jaffer feels that if Yadav wouldn’t have scored at that rate then with only Kohli on the pitch, India would have reached only around 150.
“You’ve got to have somebody who is striking far more, you know at a much higher strike rate than Virat Kohli. If Suryakumar Yadav didn’t happen (against Hong Kong), India would have ended with 150 or 160 and that would have been a dangerous score,” Jaffer added.
India are however facing concerns over their top-order’s form. Apart from Kohli, KL Rahul’s form is also quite concerning. Rahul was dismissed on a golden duck against Pakistan and then scored at a strike-rate of less than 100 in his 39-ball-36 against Hong Kong.
Captain Rohit Sharma also looked out-of-touch in the Pakistan game, scoring 12 off 18 balls and then 21 off 13 against Hong Kong.
While India have reached the Super 4 stage after beating Pakistan and hong Kong but they would need to address their opening batting concerns before that stage kicks in. Along with India, Afghanistan and Sri Lanka have also reached the Super 4 and now only spot is vacant for which Pakistan and Hong Kong will compete on Friday, September 3.
‘Virat Kohli’s Fluency is Still Not There’- Former India Batter Raises Concerns Over Kohli’s Batting
India ace batter Virat Kohli scored a half century in the match against Hong Kong in Asia Cup 2022. After his performance in that match, many believed that he was looking in a better form after the lean patch but former India opener Wasim Jaffer believes that he still lacks the “fluency” in his gameplay.
“I am still worried about his fluency. His fluency is still not there. You know what we have seen before. I don’t think we are seeing that fluency yet, even though he got runs,” Jaffer told ESPNcricinfo.
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“Anybody who is not batting at a 140 or 150 strike rate with Virat Kohli then I think India is in trouble,” Jaffer further said.
Kohli scored an unbeaten 59 off 44 balls in the match against Hong Kong and earlier in the match against Pakistan, he made an important 35 off 34 deliveries. Though he scored with a much-improved strike-rate in the Wednesday’s match with Suryakumar Yadav, who produced an explosive performance of unbeaten 68 off 28 deliveries, but Jaffer feels that if Yadav wouldn’t have scored at that rate then with only Kohli on the pitch, India would have reached only around 150.
“You’ve got to have somebody who is striking far more, you know at a much higher strike rate than Virat Kohli. If Suryakumar Yadav didn’t happen (against Hong Kong), India would have ended with 150 or 160 and that would have been a dangerous score,” Jaffer added.
India are however facing concerns over their top-order’s form. Apart from Kohli, KL Rahul’s form is also quite concerning. Rahul was dismissed on a golden duck against Pakistan and then scored at a strike-rate of less than 100 in his 39-ball-36 against Hong Kong.
Captain Rohit Sharma also looked out-of-touch in the Pakistan game, scoring 12 off 18 balls and then 21 off 13 against Hong Kong.
While India have reached the Super 4 stage after beating Pakistan and hong Kong but they would need to address their opening batting concerns before that stage kicks in. Along with India, Afghanistan and Sri Lanka have also reached the Super 4 and now only spot is vacant for which Pakistan and Hong Kong will compete on Friday, September 3.
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