“Kohli should leave the excess baggage back in England” - Pragyan Ojha’s suggestion for struggling Indian batter

Former Indian left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha has advised Virat Kohli to leave the “excess baggage” back in England and start on a positive note when he returns to international cricket.

While the Men in Blue clinched both the T20I and ODI series by a 2-1 margin, Kohli’s woeful run with the bat continued. He scored 11 and 20 in the rescheduled Test, one and 11 in the T20Is and 16 and 17 in the ODIs.

The former captain has been rested for the upcoming series in the West Indies, where India will play three ODIs and five T20Is. Asked what the batter could do to try and overcome his rough patch, Ojha told Cricbuzz:

“As a friend, I would suggest that Kohli should leave the excess baggage back in England. There is clarity that the coach, captain and team are backing him and depend on him. That is a big thing. Even in world cricket, a lot of big names have backed him, stating that it’s just a phase and he will come out of it.”

Urging the 33-year-old to start on a fresh slate, Ojha added:

“He is going through a bad phase. What he can do is cut short the negativity. Whatever happened in England and whatever disappointments he went through, he needs to leave it back there and start afresh.”

Before the tour of England, the right-handed batter struggled in IPL 2022 as well. He scored 341 runs in 16 matches at an average of 22.73 and was dismissed for golden ducks thrice.

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“When you are in bad form, you keep getting good deliveries” - RP Singh on Kohli’s dismissal in 3rd ODI

Analyzing Kohli’s dismissal in the third ODI on Sunday (July 17), former Indian pacer RP Singh lamented that the batter got a good ball and could do nothing much about it. He said:

“Yes, his runs are not coming, but he got a good ball today (Sunday). He did not play a bad shot. He was playing strokes along the ground and taking singles. But it often happens that when you are in bad form, you keep getting those good deliveries. The ball left him after pitching. It wasn’t as if he was chasing it."

Admitting that the experienced cricketer would be disappointed with his below-par performances on the England tour, Singh said:

“He will be disappointed because it is important for him to stay in form. He is the most experienced player in the team and a big-match player irrespective of the format. Even if he doesn’t get a hundred, a 50-70 would also be good.”

Kohli struck three fours during his 17-run knock on Sunday. He became Reece Topley’s third victim of the match by nicking a delivery outside off stump to the keeper.

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