India captain Virat Kohli’s batting failure in the recent Test series against New Zealand is being discussed all across the country. In the four innings he played, Kohli could manage only 38 runs and many said that because of his lack of form India lost the series 0-2.
What is uncanny to note here is that the manner of Kohli’s dismissals? In the four innings of the two Tests, the Indian skipper fell to incoming deliveries. It led to the question as to whether Kohli has developed a new weakness which bowlers have started to exploit.
Kapil Dev, however, has said that it is a problem most batsmen face at a certain age of their careers. “Hitting incoming deliveries for boundaries used to be Kohli’s strength, but now it has turned into weakness. That is because there is a lack in hand-eye coordination which is delaying him in getting to the pitch of the ball. The reflexes slow down,” the 1983 World Cup-winning captain Dev said.
Dev also pointed out that the coordination suffers as eyesight decreases with age. “When you cross 30 years, your eyesight suffers, that is for everybody. When it happens you get late on the ball and that is the reason why Kohli was dismissed leg before in both innings of the second Test,” opined Dev.
The former Indian captain, however, was quick to point out that Kohli isn’t the only batsman who has suffered from such a dilemma. “Well it happened to legends like Vivian Richards, Rahul Dravid and Virender Sehwag. But they overcame the problem by spending more time in the nets adjusting their vision,” pointed out the 61-year-old Dev.
And that is the exact remedy, he has for Kohli. He wants the present Indian captain to spend more time than he does batting at the nets. “The eyesight issues can be resolved by batting more and more. With the IPL round the corner, Kohli should just do that,” Dev signed off.
PNN & Agencies