Unlike Virat Kohli, players like Babar Azam, Kane Williamson and Joe Root’s rough patches won’t last long: Aaqib Javed

Former Pakistan fast bowler Aaqib Javed has said players like Babar Azam, Joe Root, and Kane Williamson are unlikely to have a prolonged rough patch like Virat Kohli, saying the said trio will be able to overcome their problems quicker than the former India captain.

Aaqib Javed said Virat Kohli has been troubled by the off-stump line and that the star batter has been too conscious of the weakness in the recent past. The former World Cup-winning Pakistan pacer also said that the likes of Babar, Root, and Williamson and more technically sound than Kohli.

Virat Kohli has been going through an extended lean patch across all formats of the game. The former skipper has not hit a hundred since November 2019. Kohli has played only 4 T20Is out of India’s 21 in the ongoing year. He managed just 12 runs across 2 T20Is in England and failed to get going in Tests and ODIs too in Old Blighty.

Kohli had an ordinary IPL 2022 season wherein he scored 341 runs at 22.73 but the star batter was expected to bounce back after he was rested from the 5-match T20I series at home against South Africa. Kohli showed signs of returning to form in the 4-day practice match against Leicestershire but the star batter failed to get going in the rescheduled 5th Test.

“There are two types of great players. One is players who, if they get stuck, their rough patch continues for a long time. The others are technically-sound players, whose rough patch cannot continue that long, like Babar Azam, Kane Williamson, Joe Root. It is difficult to find their weakness,” Javed told Paktv.

Shedding light on Kohli’s weakness, he added: “Kohli gets stuck at times with those deliveries outside off stump. James Anderson has targeted that a million times.

“Last day I was watching him bat and I felt that he is now consciously trying not to play those deliveries from a distance. When you change your technique, these problems will surface. To come out of it, he can try playing a big knock without being conscious. That will help him sustain a purple patch for a long time,” he said.

However, Aaqib Javed said Kohli has a good opportunity to return to form in the UAE, adding that the pitches for the Asia Cup will be batting friendly.

“If Kohli doesn’t perform, and India lose, they also face a similar situation like us. Then questions tend to arise why didn’t they play an in-form Deepak Hooda, suppose. But in UAE pitches, even out-of-form batters tend to find rhythm,” he added.

Despite Kohli’s lean patch in T20Is, the BCCI senior selection committee picked the star batter in India’s 15-man squad for the Asia Cup, starting August 27. Kohli has begun training for his return after having missed the limited-overs series in the West Indies.

— ENDS —