5 rookie mistakes that captain Virat Kohli could avoid

#5 Not enticing risks from batsmen

Kohli’s field placements don’t always entice batsmen to take a risk

Misbah-ul-Haq almost always leaves the mid-wicket open for Yasir Shah to entice batsmen to play against the latter’s leg-spin. Graeme Swann would often bowl without cover, to draw the batsman into driving. Kohli needs to learn, that sometimes, you need to take risks for rewards. Kohli relies on his bowlers giving him a breakthrough, through sheer discipline.

He hasn’t come across as someone who hatches elaborate plans and lets the bowlers make the batsmen commit mistakes. Yes, he has some superb bowlers like Shami, who bounced Moeen Ali out in the first innings of the third Test, Jadeja who enticed Stokes to step out and then got him stumped and Ashwin who used his drift and turn to clean up many an English batsman.

However, Kohli needs to encourage batsmen to take risks and for that to happen, he has to learn not to plug every gap in the field. At the moment, he seems insecure despite not really being under scoreboard pressure and playing in home conditions. One only wonders how he will react, when under the pump, playing away from home!