Anil Kumble thinks playing domestic cricket could have helped Virat Kohli

by Tejas Rathi
Virat Kohli's woes against spin continued in second test against New Zealand

Former Indian spinner Anil Kumble has opined that Virat Kohli should have played domestic cricket ahead of India’s lengthy Test schedule. Kumble’s comments came after Kohli was clean-bowled for 1 in the first innings of the ongoing second test. against New Zealand in Pune. The right-hander completely failed to judge the line of Mitchell Santner’s full delivery and played one of his worst shots throughout his career.

After playing a match-winning knock in the 2024 T20 World Cup, Kohli returned to play for India in the ODI series against Sri Lanka. However, he returned with knocks of 24, 14 & 20 and was trapped LBW in all three occasions against the spinners.

In the test series against Bangladesh, Virat Kohli was dismissed on two out of three occasions by the spinners. Meanwhile, the first test against New Zealand witnessed part-time spinner Glenn Phillips getting rid of Kohli, who was well set on 70. After the 35-year-old was dismissed by Santner in the second test, Kumble appeared on JioCinema to share his opinion about Kohli’s form.

As per Kumble, Kohli should have worked on this aspect of his game in domestic cricket, as net practice isn’t enough ahead of key international series.

“Perhaps just one or two innings in a match situation could have helped. Being in an actual game is definitely more beneficial than just practice; it gives an upper hand. If he feels that playing earlier would have benefited him, and the team management agrees, then maybe it would have. However, I don’t think we can look at that as the only reason for his struggles against spin.”

“When he’s come to the crease, the pitches have often favoured spin, which is a significant factor. His challenges against spin at the start of his innings haven’t been solely due to mindset but also conditions that aided spinners,” he added.

Mitchell Santner traps Virat Kohli as New Zealand eye historic series victory

On Day 3 of the second test, the Indian team secured consistent breakthroughs to bundle out New Zealand for 255. Washington Sundar emerged as the pick of the bowlers with four scalps for the Indian side.

Chasing 359, India lost their skipper Rohit Sharma (8) early. However, Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shubman Gill steered the team on a positive note. But, Mitchell Santner put an end to their blossoming 64-run stand by trapping Gill (23).

Soon, the left-arm spinner got rid of Jaiswal, who slammed 77 off 65, while Rishabh Pant (0) was run-out. Meanwhile, Virat Kohli was slowly building momentum by scoring odd boundaries.

Nevertheless, Santner breached through the defense of Kohli and trapped him LBW for 17. As a result, India are stuttering at 160/5, and require 199 runs more to achieve the win.

Interestingly, New Zealand are on the cusp of their maiden Test series victory in India. So far, in a total of 37 Tests played in India, the Black Caps have managed to win only three of them. It will be interesting to see if the visitors can continue their winning momentum or India fights back in the game.

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