Is Virat Kohli taking the New Zealand tour too lightly?

[Dead Ball]

He gave away his wicket like Rishabh Pant in the last two ODI s and then commented on how ODIs are irrelevant this year. Very surprised to see this especially seeing how much of a price he put on his wicket when Aus came to India in Jan.

Coming to the test series, he skipped the practice match and apparently also skipped the net sessions on the day before the match . Then he comes in at 35/2 when he needs to see through a difficult phase and gets out playing a stupid shot.

He may or may not bounce back by scoring a ton in the next few innings but it's been a pretty poor showing of commitment from him so far on a tour thats been as hyped as this. His standards are set too high to see him play so casually.

 

[Mujtaba2900]

He gave away his wicket like Rishabh Pant in the last two ODI s and then commented on how ODIs are irrelevant this year. Very surprised to see this especially seeing how much of a price he put on his wicket when Aus came to India in Jan.

Coming to the test series, he skipped the practice match and apparently also skipped the net sessions on the day before the match . Then he comes in at 35/2 when he needs to see through a difficult phase and gets out playing a stupid shot.

He may or may not bounce back by scoring a ton in the next few innings but it's been a pretty poor showing of commitment from him so far on a tour thats been as hyped as this. His standards are set too high to see him play so casually.

It eventually happens with high performers they need goals with loosing both WC and CT from Almost winning as a captain.
Now its no surprise bilateral series won't be of much importance for kohli And india is Sure Finalist for TC

 

[tyron_woodley]

well if he did for tests then he is an idiot. I highly doubt it. N.z are a formidable team at home.

 

[Mahee]

not that he is taking it lightly....his time as king is over...he should very soon retire and give a chance to Gill

 

[Rana]

He seems to be on a image cleansing mission. He’s become soft

 

[Saurav]

Looks like a combination of burnout and captaincy pressure

Should have rested in home LOIs

 

[Joseph Gomes]

Kohli has definitely changed, he's making stupid remarks than X series is not important. Dude has completely lost sanity. You can skip any series you want, but don't say that 'X series was not important, losing is not a big deal'.

I have no clue what happened to Kohli. Not even gonna bring up his batting form.

 

[Rana]

Kohli has definitely changed, he's making stupid remarks than X series is not important. Dude has completely lost sanity. You can skip any series you want, but don't say that 'X series was not important, losing is not a big deal'.

I have no clue what happened to Kohli. Not even gonna bring up his batting form.

I believe he is still traumatised inside for not delivering the 2019 Wc for India, plus he did not do the honourable thing by resigning and making way for a new captain. He knows that he has his best shot at becoming a WC winning captain in 2023 at home, and is being greedy by holding on. A very typical south Asian mentality.

You either die a hero or live long enough to become the villain. For Kohli’s sake I would urge that he resigns from the captaincy and take some time off. He’s playing too much.

 

[Aman]

Seems to have lost the fire tbh.

Doesn't seem as hungry for runs and knows these matches mean little, the big one is coming in 3 years.

 

[Aman]

Kohli has definitely changed, he's making stupid remarks than X series is not important. Dude has completely lost sanity. You can skip any series you want, but don't say that 'X series was not important, losing is not a big deal'.

I have no clue what happened to Kohli. Not even gonna bring up his batting form.

Losing that SF hurt him a lot, he's changed since then and doesn't care for the meaningless games in between. He knows the real test is coming in 3 years time at home where it is do or die for him.

well if he did for tests then he is an idiot. I highly doubt it. N.z are a formidable team at home.

Kohli may say things to suggest otherwise time to time but he knows the big one is in 2023. Everything else is insignificant.

 

[Ab Fan]

New Zealand have mentally destroyed and tramuatized Virat Kohli during that loss in WC'19 semi final. He has turned out to be a mentally very very weak cricketer and might very soon fade away.

Just like his big brother de Villiers, Kohli still gets nightmare from New Zealand after that thrashing and the hammering he was given by Kane Williamson's men. That loss has diminished himself from a lion to nothing more than just a sheep.

 

[Mujtaba2900]

Losing that SF hurt him a lot, he's changed since then and doesn't care for the meaningless games in between. He knows the real test is coming in 3 years time at home where it is do or die for him.

Kohli may say things to suggest otherwise time to time but he knows the big one is in 2023. Everything else is insignificant.

Exactly

 

[Savak]

Knee jerk reaction. No one is Superman, you can have the same odd bad tour

 

[jnaveen1980]

Not in batting rhythm. Can happen to the best of the batsmen. Eventually when people starts scrutinizing him he will as usual come back with "you were saying" knocks. Kohli needs to rev himself up to put up good performance. Against new zealanders he is way too meek. He is overly friendly with them

 

[Ronaldo7]

Looks like the hunger is just not there anymore for Bilateral series.
He's more focused on the Test matches now.

 

[Rajdeep]

Not good enough in these conditions. People can make all excuses they want but getting out chasing 5th stump line can only be attributed to poor technique. It appears to me that Kohli didnt learn anything from that 2014 Eng tour. Tendulkar would never played that shot in 1st hour of a test match on a greentop with 2 wickets down.

Difference between the two is clear for everyone to see.

 

[Ronaldo7]

Not good enough in these conditions. People can make all excuses they want but getting out chasing 5th stump line can only be attributed to poor technique. It appears to me that Kohli didnt learn anything from that 2014 Eng tour. Tendulkar would never played that shot in 1st hour of a test match on a greentop with 2 wickets down.

Difference between the two is clear for everyone to see.

Kohli was actually quite lucky in the 2018 Eng series too.
He managed quite a few there too but England just didn't hold onto them so his mistakes were blanketed by his hundreds

 

[jnaveen1980]

Not good enough in these conditions. People can make all excuses they want but getting out chasing 5th stump line can only be attributed to poor technique. It appears to me that Kohli didnt learn anything from that 2014 Eng tour. Tendulkar would never played that shot in 1st hour of a test match on a greentop with 2 wickets down.

Difference between the two is clear for everyone to see.

Are you saying the edges that Tendulkar gifted to Chaminda vaas were great deliveries? If you had used Dravid as an example i would have agreed lol Tendulkar has also done this mistake a lot so much so he decided to abandon that shot for an entire innings where he made 241 runs. Kohli, Tendulkar are stroke players. From time to time they play shots like these.

 

[Saurav]

Are you saying the edges that Tendulkar gifted to Chaminda vaas were great deliveries? If you had used Dravid as an example i would have agreed lol Tendulkar has also done this mistake a lot so much so he decided to abandon that shot for an entire innings where he made 241 runs. Kohli, Tendulkar are stroke players. From time to time they play shots like these.

Atleast Tendulkar learned from his mistakes.Kohli seems to get out same way again and again.It's not something he can't avoid

 

[andy0204]

Kohli was actually quite lucky in the 2018 Eng series too.
He managed quite a few there too but England just didn't hold onto them so his mistakes were blanketed by his hundreds

I remember Anderson was still not giving him chance to score runs.

 

[jnaveen1980]

Atleast Tendulkar learned from his mistakes.Kohli seems to get out same way again and again.It's not something he can't avoid

Tendulkar has sure edged a few to the slips as well. Also he often got cleaned up by ball that came back in. Guys like Chris Cairns, gavin larsen,Cronje, Razzaq. People do get out in certain fashion from time to time. Doesn't mean they allow that to deter the game.

 

[ARK Rafay]

He has reached and seen and been to the peak. He's a burned out I think. Needs to take time off.

 

[jnaveen1980]

Too many over-reactive posts lol He analyzes his game very well. These days he picks the length perfectly. Once in a while he throws misjudging the length. This was one such occasion. He will come back very well.

 

[Saurav]

Tendulkar has sure edged a few to the slips as well. Also he often got cleaned up by ball that came back in. Guys like Chris Cairns, gavin larsen,Cronje, Razzaq. People do get out in certain fashion from time to time. Doesn't mean they allow that to deter the game.

I don't ever remember it being a pattern for Tendulkar except that Aus tour.

Its okay to make mistakes as long as you learn from it.

With Kohli its a technique issue than form issue.

 

[andy0204]

Too many over-reactive posts lol He analyzes his game very well. These days he picks the length perfectly. Once in a while he throws misjudging the length. This was one such occasion. He will come back very well.

Sure he will come back but he is repeating the same mistake again and again.

 

[Saurav]

He has reached and seen and been to the peak. He's a burned out I think. Needs to take time off.

Agree.Should look to play only important games now

 

[Saurav]

Too many over-reactive posts lol He analyzes his game very well. These days he picks the length perfectly. Once in a while he throws misjudging the length. This was one such occasion. He will come back very well.

Once in a while?It happens almost everytime there is movement.Wouldn't have had a Test career in the 90s with such shot selection

 

[Mahee]

He doesn't have technique for tests.... highly overrated batsman

 

[Bhaag Viru Bhaag]

I said it 2 years ago also and I will repeat it again. Kohli is a human not a machine so if he wants to prolong his international career he should think about skipping IPL. Infact even Bumrah should think about it.

He can always play that funny league once he retires. I am sure those who can pay 7-8 crores for players like Unadkat can also pay 5-6 crores for a legend like Kohli.

 

[jnaveen1980]

Once in a while?It happens almost everytime there is movement.Wouldn't have had a Test career in the 90s with such shot selection

He has played much better in much more challenging conditions like he did in SA, England. You suggest we were champions of moving conditions in the 90s? lol We got rolled over for 100 & 66 at kingsmead. We scored runs mostly on true wickets. Apart from Dravid i don't see anyone is that good agianst moving balls.

 

[Saurav]

He has played much better in much more challenging conditions like he did in SA, England. You suggest we were champions of moving conditions in the 90s? lol We got rolled over for 100 & 66 at kingsmead. We scored runs mostly on true wickets. Apart from Dravid i don't see anyone is that good agianst moving balls.

When did I say we were good?

But Kohli is directly compared to Tendulkar.So its expected that such repeating mistakes are called out.In England as others pointed out,he benefitted from drop catches,but the edges were there.

 

[jnaveen1980]

When did I say we were good?

But Kohli is directly compared to Tendulkar.So its expected that such repeating mistakes are called out.In England as others pointed out,he benefitted from drop catches,but the edges were there.

He middled the ball 90% of the time in England. You don't score 600 runs with edges. Anderson did not dismiss him even once. By the way Tendulkar has got out 9 times to Anderson.

 

[Bhaag Viru Bhaag]

Sure he will come back but he is repeating the same mistake again and again.

Don't think he is going to correct them at this point of his career because there is no one in the dressing room who can guide him.

 

[Ab Fan]

On a serious note, these are very small lows which happens in every great cricketers career. He has sorted out his off-stump weakness long back but see in these conditions, it's always about that just one bowl which can have your name and you might get out. The concentration, focus and not going hard on bowl early on are important aspects to be taken into consideration while batting against a moving ball.

On a given day, even Dravid who is considered a brilliant player of moving ball can edge one to the slips while chasing one, these are not weaknesses. It's simply the game of concentration and focus and a slight loss in that will cost you a wicket over here. He will not chase down these deliveries in next inning and that will resolve all the doubts in anyone's mind . It's no longer his weakness as it was in 2014.

 

[jnaveen1980]

On a serious note, these are very small lows which happens in every great cricketers career. He has sorted out his off-stump weakness long back but see in these conditions, it's always about that just one bowl which can have your name and you might get out. The concentration, focus and not going hard on bowl early on are important aspects to be taken into consideration while batting against a moving ball.

On a given day, even Dravid who is considered a brilliant player of moving ball can edge one to the slips, these are not weaknesses. It's simply the game of concentration and focus and a slight loss in that will cost you a wicket over here. He will not chase down these deliveries in next inning and that will resolve all the doubts in anyone's mind . It's no longer his weakness as it was in 2014.

These armchair experts think cricket is such an easy game where your mistakes should never be repeated. Basically he should never drive any ball outside the off stump even if he thinks it is an half volley.

 

[Dead Ball]

These armchair experts think cricket is such an easy game where your mistakes should never be repeated. Basically he should never drive any ball outside the off stump even if he thinks it is an half volley.

I understand that a player can be out of form and lack rhythm from time to time.

What I am questioning is his attitude...he seems to be getting out to loose shots. Take his 89 in the decider against Aus for example. He put such a high price on his wicket and grinded it out.

I wouldn't have created this thread had he gotten out on a duck for 3 consecutive matches to good wicket taking deliveries... his last 3 dismissals in test/ODIs have been to regular deliveries. Also his attitude to defeat and match preparation has been questionable on this tour IMHO.

 

[Ab Fan]

These armchair experts think cricket is such an easy game where your mistakes should never be repeated. Basically he should never drive any ball outside the off stump even if he thinks it is an half volley.

Absolutely. Every time he nicks one to the slips, the argument that he struggles against off-stump deliveries comes up. Its just not possible for batsmen to give their 100% to every single ball they face and mistakes are bound to happen.

 

[jnaveen1980]

I understand that a player can be out of form and lack rhythm from time to time.

What I am questioning is his attitude...he seems to be getting out to loose shots. Take his 89 in the decider against Aus for example. He put such a high price on his wicket and grinded it out.

I wouldn't have created this thread had he gotten out on a duck for 3 consecutive matches to good wicket taking deliveries... his last 3 dismissals in test/ODIs have been to regular deliveries. Also his attitude to defeat and match preparation has been questionable on this tour IMHO.

He probably didn't take LOIs seriously. You could see that. But he prides himself on doing well in Tests. With Test championship on the line i don't think he is taking the game casually. Agarwal played well outside his comfort zone. Normally a fluent stroke player restrained himself immensely. Rahane, Pujara all were prepared to spend time. As a team India is taking the test seriously. Couple of self-inflicted wounds. Otherwise pitch had enough in it to keep the bowlers interested. Yes he got out to a not so good ball. Cover drive is his strength. He more often than not, backs himself to play through that area. Especially fuller balls. This was not so full to be drive through the covers. An error in judgement. Generally when he gets riled up he does very well. So far he is overly cool.

 

[jnaveen1980]

Absolutely. Every time he nicks one to the slips, the argument that he struggles against off-stump deliveries comes up. Its just not possible for batsmen to give their 100% to every single ball they face and mistakes are bound to happen.

Almost all these great teams who are supposedly better against swing got bowled out under 100 recent times. NZ, Australia, England, SA.

 

[Ab Fan]

I understand that a player can be out of form and lack rhythm from time to time.

What I am questioning is his attitude...he seems to be getting out to loose shots. Take his 89 in the decider against Aus for example. He put such a high price on his wicket and grinded it out.

I wouldn't have created this thread had he gotten out on a duck for 3 consecutive matches to good wicket taking deliveries... his last 3 dismissals in test/ODIs have been to regular deliveries. Also his attitude to defeat and match preparation has been questionable on this tour IMHO.

You can question his attitude but not now the sample should be more. Atleast 1 bad test series and then. His last test series was at home Vs SA. He got a 250 I think.

 

[Rajdeep]

I said it 2 years ago also and I will repeat it again. Kohli is a human not a machine so if he wants to prolong his international career he should think about skipping IPL. Infact even Bumrah should think about it.

He can always play that funny league once he retires. I am sure those who can pay 7-8 crores for players like Unadkat can also pay 5-6 crores for a legend like Kohli.

You need not be a machine to know that you don't chase 5th stump line on 1st day of a test match. Its been taught to any batsman in an elementary level. Kohli has technical issues in seaming conditions and we are trying to justify it with various excuses like IPL, Burntout etc.

 

[happydavy]

I said it 2 years ago also and I will repeat it again. Kohli is a human not a machine so if he wants to prolong his international career he should think about skipping IPL. Infact even Bumrah should think about it.

He can always play that funny league once he retires. I am sure those who can pay 7-8 crores for players like Unadkat can also pay 5-6 crores for a legend like Kohli.

You could say that every year but until Kohli listens to your views, I don't see the point of convincing us ferociously about what's right or wrong for Kohli. His life, his calls. For that matter, why just IPL, so many of bilateral series are meaningless and yet of all the major teams only India's regular team plays those matches. Some random t20 series against WI or Bdesh, yet Kohli has to play that because he doesn't want to miss out on cheap runs. He's not a machine but he's a greedy human for sure.

 

[Dead Ball]

Another innings, out to another unnecessary shot..

 

[CricVet]

Every rise has a fall. Let's not exaggerate of him being an exception. He has not been convincing in this test and credit to NZ bowling to set him up. It was not that out of the blue, he played a bad shot. He was lucky to even score this many runs after being lucky to survive on multiple occasions.

 

[Junaids]

Firstly, let me say that I do recognise Kohli as India's greatest ever batsman.

But the problem is this. He's a profoundly ignorant and not especially smart guy who does not really understand Test cricket. All of us outside Asia know that Test cricket is called Test cricket because it is how you are judged as a player and as a team.

But Kohli is what Shahid Afridi or Umar Akmal would have been had they been marginally better endowed with brains and marginally less burdened with undeserved narcissism and vanity.

Steve Smith lost a 2019 World Cup semi-final too. But he has had better mentors than Kohli, especially in terms of senior mentors who tell him to shut up and listen. Even Dave Warner is better endowed in that department. So both Warner and Smith knuckled down and came back better in Test cricket because they were better prepared than ever.

Unfortunately Kohli clearly hasn't got anyone in India who is bigger than him and smarter than him and who can give him an absolute rollicking and tell him that it's time to take overseas tours seriously and start preparing better than Indian traditionally does. In Australia or England if you were Kohli (but the England captain) you'd get taken out for a drink by Ian Chappell or Michael Vaughan and they would tell you what to do differently. And if you didn't listen and do what they told you to do they'd punch you in the face and tell you to belt up.

Someone needs to do that to Kohli. If he belts up and starts preparing properly there's a chance that they can draw this series, somehow eke out a good result against a superior Aussie team next winter and then win the World Test Championship Final. Which would build a bigger legacy than a stupid white ball World Cup.

But it's only going to happen if Kohli is taken to task and told to prepare properly or find a new job.

 

[Mobashir]

Firstly, let me say that I do recognise Kohli as India's greatest ever batsman.

But the problem is this. He's a profoundly ignorant and not especially smart guy who does not really understand Test cricket. All of us outside Asia know that Test cricket is called Test cricket because it is how you are judged as a player and as a team.

But Kohli is what Shahid Afridi or Umar Akmal would have been had they been marginally better endowed with brains and marginally less burdened with undeserved narcissism and vanity.

Steve Smith lost a 2019 World Cup semi-final too. But he has had better mentors than Kohli, especially in terms of senior mentors who tell him to shut up and listen. Even Dave Warner is better endowed in that department. So both Warner and Smith knuckled down and came back better in Test cricket because they were better prepared than ever.

Unfortunately Kohli clearly hasn't got anyone in India who is bigger than him and smarter than him and who can give him an absolute rollicking and tell him that it's time to take overseas tours seriously and start preparing better than Indian traditionally does. In Australia or England if you were Kohli (but the England captain) you'd get taken out for a drink by Ian Chappell or Michael Vaughan and they would tell you what to do differently. And if you didn't listen and do what they told you to do they'd punch you in the face and tell you to belt up.

Someone needs to do that to Kohli. If he belts up and starts preparing properly there's a chance that they can draw this series, somehow eke out a good result against a superior Aussie team next winter and then win the World Test Championship Final. Which would build a bigger legacy than a stupid white ball World Cup.

But it's only going to happen if Kohli is taken to task and told to prepare properly or find a new job.

I completely disagree with you. Virat Kohli is far from perfect and the most overrated batsman going around by those who consider him better than say a Smith.

But one thing you have to like is his love for Test cricket. Asian players sometimes don't understand that it's the most important format but Virat Kohli has understood that very well.
He is taking nothing lightly. He has just failed as a batsman and that happens to everyone.

PS: I said he is overrated because only for those people who consider him the greatest ever at everything...

 

[Ronaldo7]

Every rise has a fall. Let's not exaggerate of him being an exception. He has not been convincing in this test and credit to NZ bowling to set him up. It was not that out of the blue, he played a bad shot. He was lucky to even score this many runs after being lucky to survive on multiple occasions.

He played a bad shot in the last innings too lol
This ain’t a one-off

 

[Junaids]

I completely disagree with you. Virat Kohli is far from perfect and the most overrated batsman going around by those who consider him better than say a Smith.

But one thing you have to like is his love for Test cricket. Asian players sometimes don't understand that it's the most important format but Virat Kohli has understood that very well.
He is taking nothing lightly. He has just failed as a batsman and that happens to everyone.

PS: I said he is overrated because only for those people who consider him the greatest ever at everything...

He loves it, sure, but he shows no sign of understanding it. How many away Tests outside Asia has Kohli lost in the last 25 months - is it 7 out of 10? He needs to stand up to the Board and say "if the BCCI has as much money as you claim, from now on we arrive four weeks before every SENA tour and play three First Class matches before the First Test. And if we don't, we the team aren't playing."

That's what Imran Khan did. And it worked.

 

[Bhaag Viru Bhaag]

He loves it, sure, but he shows no sign of understanding it. How many away Tests outside Asia has Kohli lost in the last 25 months - is it 7 out of 10? He needs to stand up to the Board and say "if the BCCI has as much money as you claim, from now on we arrive four weeks before every SENA tour and play three First Class matches before the First Test. And if we don't, we the team aren't playing."

That's what Imran Khan did. And it worked.

Lol nobody will understand your point. There was a time when teams used to arrive 2-3 weeks before their first match on any foreign tour. Even then coaches here used to give an excuse of not getting enough match practice.

Players and fans these days think that by just interacting with NZ, Aus and English players in IPL they will learn how to play on their pitches.

 

[happydavy]

He loves it, sure, but he shows no sign of understanding it. How many away Tests outside Asia has Kohli lost in the last 25 months - is it 7 out of 10? He needs to stand up to the Board and say "if the BCCI has as much money as you claim, from now on we arrive four weeks before every SENA tour and play three First Class matches before the First Test. And if we don't, we the team aren't playing."

That's what Imran Khan did. And it worked.

It worked? Like how many tests Imran won outside Asia ? Grand total of 2 if I am not wrong in a captain career of 10+ years. So perhaps he did go for holidays before the tours but it never translated to performances.

 

[angrypathan]

It worked? Like how many tests Imran won outside Asia ? Grand total of 2 if I am not wrong in a captain career of 10+ years. So perhaps he did go for holidays before the tours but it never translated to performances.

Different era where draws were considerably more common. How many did Imran draw?

 

[Romali_rotti]

He loves it, sure, but he shows no sign of understanding it. How many away Tests outside Asia has Kohli lost in the last 25 months - is it 7 out of 10? He needs to stand up to the Board and say "if the BCCI has as much money as you claim, from now on we arrive four weeks before every SENA tour and play three First Class matches before the First Test. And if we don't, we the team aren't playing."

That's what Imran Khan did. And it worked.

How many series have Imran won away in tests ?

 

[Robert]

He’s out of form, happens to all batters.

 

[Robert]

How many series have Imran won away in tests ?

He won in India and England and held the mighty Windies in their yard.

Tests were harder to win back then as batters stayed in longer due to tighter techniques than today.