Akram reckons Kohli should look to bat with an open stance for the first couple of overs and believes that would help him.
Mumbai: Not just the outswingers, but also the inswingers have found Virat Kohli – who does not have a single international century in more than two years – napping at times. Ex-Pakistan bowling legend Wasim Akram passed on some advise to the ex-Indian captain on how to deal with the ball coming in sharply. Akram reckons Kohli should look to bat with an open stance for the first couple of overs and believes that would help him.
Speaking on VUSport Streaming’s YouTube channel, Akram said: “I think Kohli should bat with an open stance initially, just for the first couple of overs to negotiate the incoming delivery. With this, the inswinging delivery will not hit his pads. He can play straight with this stance. I think this is what Virat should do early on, if he feels he is struggling against the left-armers.”
“If a player like Kohli survives the first couple of overs, then I do not think it would be easy to stop him,” he added.
Not just for Kohli, Akram passed the same advise to India captain Rohit Sharma. He said that Kohli and Rohit should play the first couple of overs cautiously. He added further: “Rohit and Virat are such great players, not such T20 format, look at ODI and Tests as well, their consistency and performances. In T20s, the ball swings hardly for a few overs, as Virat and Rohit only need to see off those couple of overs.”
