Veteran Indian cricketer Virat Kohli is going through a bad phase of form. The 36-year-old was disappointing in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy as he was constantly struggling with balls outside the off-stump.
Considering his meager career, former Indian cricketer Yograj Singh spoke about the role of head coach Gautam Gambhir. Yograj feels Gambhir needs to step in and guide Kohli on his mistakes.
Virat Kohli has been dismissed to balls outside the off-stump on all eight occasions in this series. As the series went on, problems continued to grow for him as his weakness was constantly targeted by some of the relentless Australian bowling attacks.
Read also: BCCI forces Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli to play ODI series against England
Gautam Gambhir's role in Virat Kohli's bad career
During a conversation with news agency IANS, Yograj Singh spoke about the role of a head coach in such situations. He called for improving international players' human management skills instead of training.
“The role of the coach becomes an important question when you are playing for India. When you are an exceptional player representing India, you may not necessarily need coaching in the traditional sense. What you really need is someone to manage the players,” Yograj said. He said.
He added: “Sometimes, a player's mind gets blocked; they may not score goals, or they keep coming out. No matter how great a player is, he cannot be bigger than the game itself.”
Yograj feels Gautam Gambhir needs to guide Kohli on playing straight or leaving balls instead of going for them outside off stump. Kohli advised that he should stop himself from playing such shots in bouncy and closing conditions.
“Such players need someone to guide them and tell them: 'Let's go to the net and work on it,'” Singh noted. For example, Virat Kohli has been out several times playing his favorite shot – the right-hand drive.”
“This shot works on Indian pitches, in England and elsewhere. But on certain pitches where the ball bounces and carries more, someone had to say to him: 'Virat, don't play this shot. All you have to do is play it straight or leave this ball.' He added.
“Every player faces a downfall.” – Yograj Singh
Also talking about the difference between coaching and management, Yograj Singh believes that Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli need to tell the coaching staff about the mistakes.
“This shows the difference between coaching and management. Identifying and pointing out a player's technical error is coaching. Someone needs to recognize these technical issues and convey them to the players,” Yograj noted.
“But who will tell Rohit Sharma or Virat Kohli? They even want someone to come and tell them what is going wrong,” he added.
Yograj also feels that players should be given confidence by the coaching staff so that they can perform. According to him, the player will go through times when he is not at his best, but that is all part of the game.
“I think what is needed is proper management – someone who understands when a player's mind is clouded, when he feels down, and reassures him, saying: 'Don't worry, we are here for you. You will do it because you are a great player.'” Every player faces a downfall, even the greatest, said Yuvraj Singh's father. Players, it's part of the game.”
Poor performance by Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma
Virat Kohli scored 190 runs in five Tests at an average of just 23.75 throughout the series. All his dismissals were for balls outside the off-stump. On the other hand, Rohit Sharma was also in poor form as he compiled just 31 runs in three Tests at 6.20.
The poor form of these senior players has raised questions about their future in Test cricket. There are calls for their retirement from a few former cricketers, however, both are likely to stick around for the time being.