Former Indian cricketer-turned-commentator Sunil Gavaskar has some advice for a struggling Virat Kohli ahead of T20 World Cup 2024 final against South Africa. Kohli who smashed Reece Topley for a six before losing his wicket in the T20 World Cup 2024 semifinal has got out cheaply in five out of seven innings. He has scored just 75 runs from seven innings. Gavaskar wants Kohli to stay still instead of moving around trying to generate power.
"As long as it ends in a win. It's a final and it will be played on a better batting surface. Like I keep saying, what Kohli has to do is just play the shots that he plays with the same body balance. When he is looking to power the ball away, then he is losing his body balance and he misses the ball. So, all that needs to do is, that six he hit (off Reece Topley). It was brilliant balance and he just flicked the ball with the bottom hand. That's all he has to do," Gavaskar told India Today.
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Gavaskar went on to say that Kohli needs to chill a bit instead of playing opposite to his natural game.
"When he starts to move around, the head shakes as well. And therefore, it is not helping him. This is something you see in slow-mo as well. All that he needs to do is chill a bit and play that big hand and will give India the big score," added the 74-year-old.
Hussain wants Kohli to go back to his style of play
Kohli is the leading run-scorer in T20 World Cups. The 35-year-old has not been able to carry his Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 form. He was unimpressive in the group stage scoring just five runs from three games in group stage. While Indian captain Rohit Sharma and head coach Rahul Dravid have backed Kohli to perform in the final, former England captain Nasser Hussain has said that Kohli needs to play his natural game.
"I personally and others will disagree because you want to set the tone throughout the team. I personally think Virat Kohli should bat like he's batted over the last decade. He's got a strike rate of 138. He can be the glue, the rot, you know, they all bat around, and they all come in playing their shots. You cannot doubt Kohli as a player. You cannot doubt him in a big match. He has suffered because of that New York pitch because he had a brilliant IPL," Hussain told Star Sports.
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