Kohli has to stop his senseless antics: Ian Chappell  

by Sahil Jain
Virat Kohli

Ian Chappell was very critical of Virat Kohli and his on-field antics. The former Australia captain believes that Kohli needs to stop such ‘senseless’ acts on the field and wants him to concentrate more on his batting. 

Kohli shoulder-bumped 19-year-old Sam Konstas in the Boxing Day Test at the MCG and the Indian great was fined 20% of his match fee. The incident went viral and social media came down heavily on Kohli.  

The 36-year-old Indian superstar has had a tough run with the bat as well since the start of 2024, scoring just 440 runs in 21 innings while averaging 23.15. His numbers across the three formats aren’t great either as he has 678 runs at an average of 21.18 in this period.  

He made only 190 runs in nine innings in the recently concluded Border-Gavaskar Trophy. Kohli notched up a ton in the second innings at Perth but that came when the team was in the driver’s seat. While he did look good in a few knocks but fell prey to his weakness outside the off-stump. In fact, the former India captain was caught edging behind the stumps eight times in the series which has raised a lot of eyebrows.  

He has been heavily criticized for constantly making the same mistakes and not being able to rectify it throughout the series. There are calls for him to decide on his future soon. However, Ian Chappell believes Kohli’s experience is going to be invaluable during India’s tour of England later this year. However, the former Australia captain wants him to stop his on-field antics like shoulder-bumping Sam Konstas. 

Kohli’s experience in the UK would be invaluable, and of the two problematic players, he’s the most likely to be resuscitated. However, his consistency needs to improve in addition to dispensing valuable advice to younger players. He also has to stop his senseless antics like shouldering Sam Konstas in the MCG Test,” Ian Chappell wrote in his column on ESPNCricinfo. 

Rohit is a doubtful quantity for England, feels Ian Chappell 

Rohit Sharma
Rohit Sharma

Chappell doesn’t think Rohit Sharma would be ideal for the five-match Test series in England. The current Indian Test captain has endured a wretched run with the bat. He mustered a mere 31 runs in five innings in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. In fact, since the start of the home season in September 2024, he has scored 164 runs in 15 innings at an average of 10.93. 

The soon-to-be-38-year-old Rohit, facing a crammed five-Test series against England in a few months, is a doubtful quantity. Although India are extremely reluctant to part with star players, lately Rohit has struggled technically, and his absence would provide uncertainty over the opening position and the captaincy,” Chappell further wrote in his column.  

India’s tour of England starts on the 20th of June and finishes on the 4th of August. It is still uncertain whether Rohit would continue to be a part of India’s red-ball setup and lead the side. Jasprit Bumrah is likely to take over captaincy reigns if the selectors decide to move on from Rohit. 

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