Former Indian cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar disagreed with skipper Rohit Sharma's statement about Virat Kohli's form in the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) 2024-25 series. Sanjay Manjrekar said that Rohit Sharma had to make a public statement to avoid increasing pressure on Virat Kohli.
Virat Kohli's struggle against off-stump deliveries has been a major problem. That has been evident in the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy series. Apart from his century in the second innings of the Perth Test match, Kohli has been dismissed four times in the series, all by catching behind the stumps.
The modern greats will find their way or their way – Rohit Sharma
The 36-year-old scored 126 runs in five innings at an average of 31.50. With the series in jeopardy, Kohli is aiming to regain his form in the next match at the MCG. When Rohit Sharma was asked about Kohli's struggles, he expressed confidence that Kohli will find a way to address the issue.
“You just said he is a modern-day great. Modern-day greats will find their way or way (to overcome problems),” Rohit told reporters.
This is a flawed statement – Sanjay Manjrekar
Sanjay Manjrekar disagreed with Rohit Sharma's statement regarding Virat Kohli's form, calling it a “flawed statement”. Manjrekar said the captain should avoid putting extra pressure on the player, but cricketers often think differently behind the scenes.
“Actually, that's a shameful statement. And he has to say that. Let's understand that the captain can't go there and put more pressure on the batsman. So he said that thing that he had to say in a press conference. But it's clear,” Manjrekar told ESPNCricinfo. “Deep down, cricketers think differently. I was part of that system too.”
I am no longer focused on the Virat Kohli-Sanjay Manjrekar problem
Modern greats like Virat Kohli will not be able to solve their problems alone, Sanjay Manjrekar said. If that were true, Kohli would have already solved his problems, he said. Manjrekar stressed that the batting coach should address these technical issues.
“But it is not true that the modern great will find his way out. If that were the case, he would have found his way out. That is why I did not focus more on the problem of Virat Kohli but more on the problem. The man who is supposed to solve those problems and that He's the hitting coach.”
“And if he can't address these chronic issues that some of our hitters have, and those are mostly temperamental technical battles, or if there's a mental issue, that's a little bit more difficult to solve, but the technical issues, if he doesn't have the input or if he doesn't have If he can make a difference, you have to start looking at the role of the batting coach.
“So I think it is very clear to everyone that Virat Kohli needs outside help because he alone could not solve this technical problem of his,” he concluded.
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