Virat Kohli and Joe Root in Test cricket (Source:@jaysukh44/X.com)
India and England are set to play a five-match Test series with the first game starting on June 20 in Headingley, Leeds. The home team is the more fancied side this time around as India are without their star players like Virat Kohli, Ravichandran Ashwin and Rohit Sharma.
Thus, the retirement of these three legends has left a big hole in India's Test unit, and their absence is likely to have an impact on the opponent as well. Now, in an exclusive interview with Times of India, Joe Root was asked about Virat Kohli and how he perceives the Indian star's problem outside the off-stump line in England.
Joe Root Dissects Virat Kohli's Outside Off Struggle
Root stated that every player is different and if there is some technical problem in the middle of a five-match Test series, it becomes difficult to work it out. He added that there is very little breathing space in the middle of the series and opponents would always try to remind him about how you got out previously.
“Every player is different. If you’re in a five-match Test series and there’s something in your game that doesn’t sit well with you, it can be difficult. You haven’t got time to go and get two weeks off to work on that thing. There’s no breathing space unless you make a drastic change within a Test. But then you’re playing against some very high-quality players in their own conditions. And let’s not forget, a lot of people will keep mentioning how you got out!”
Root also mentioned that Virat Kohli got a hundred in the first Test which India won. However, he stressed on the need to bring things back in your control by making minor changes to technique, approach or even the batting stance.
The star English batter cautioned that the changes one makes would have pros and cons. However, one has to do it each and every time if it is worth doing.
“Kohli still got 100 in that first Test (in Perth), which India won. It’s all about what you can do to wrestle things back in your favour — whether it’s a change of guard or batting out of your crease or in your crease, or to try and create width by staying leg-side of the ball rather than feeling like you’ve got to make technical changes in that short span. Whenever you make a change, there could be massive pros to it and slight cons to it. You’ve got to work out if it’s worth doing each and every time.”
Thus, Joe Root, in a very astute manner dissected Virat Kohli's struggle in the BGT against Australia. The Indian legend could not find a way to get back to his best in that series and that probably made a big impact on his decision to retire from Test cricket.
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