Virat Kohli likely to be troubled all series if he doesn't leave balls outside off-stump: Sanjay Manjrekar

Former Indian cricketer-turned commentator Sanjay Manjrekar believes the horrors of the 2014 England tour have come back to haunt skipper Virat Kohli in the ongoing series.

In his column for the Hindustan Times, Manjrekar wrote that Virat Kohli, just like the 2014 series, is currently grappling with his issue outside the off-stump.

The former middle-order batsman has reckoned that Virat is likely to be troubled throughout the series if he doesn't resist his urge to poke at balls outside off-stump.

Manjrekar wrote:

"Virat currently is grappling with his issue outside off, 2014 is coming back to haunt Virat and if he does not leave balls like he did in 2018, he is likely to be troubled the whole series."

Manjrekar added that that Kohli must resist the urge to get onto the front foot in order to make life difficult for the bowlers.

According to Manjrekar, the Indian skipper's front-foot play is making him 'graft' more, which has led to 'average bowlers' making his life miserable.

He further explained:

"Or, he could not be so obsessed with getting onto the front foot no matter what and make his life easier and the bowlers’ more difficult. His front foot play is just making him graft more and even average bowlers who bowl around good length are making the great batter scavenge for runs."

Virat Kohli endured a nightmare during the 2014 England tour where he kept nicking balls outside off-stump.

Virat Kohli is getting out in this series in the same manner as he was getting out in the 2014 Test Series in England. #INDvENG pic.twitter.com/KSWjKfmbRQ

— CricketMAN2 (@man4_cricket) August 25, 2021

The Indian captain showed great discipline during the return tour in 2018 as he consistently resisted the urge to fish at balls at 4th or 5th stump.

However, the ongoing English summer has seen him chase balls outside the off-stump and, as a result, he has nicked off in each of his 5 innings thus far.

'He overestimated his batting' - Sanjay Manjrekar on Virat Kohli's decision to bat first at Headingley

James Anderson's masterclass sparked India's collapse on the 1st day in Leeds

Indian captain Virat Kohli's decision to bat first after winning a rare toss in the Leeds Test proved to be a disaster as the tourists were bundled out for 78 in less than two sessions.

Alluding to Joe Root's comments at the toss where the England captain had said that he wasn't sure what he would have done had he won the toss, stating that the pitch was ‘tacky’, Manjrekar reckoned that Virat perhaps 'overestimated' his batting-unit.

’At the toss on Day 1, Joe Root said something that caught my attention. After Virat Kohli elected to bat, Root was asked what he would have done had he won the toss. Root said, “Interesting question because I was not sure, the pitch looks tacky.’’

'’Okay, so there is definitely going to be some life in this pitch to begin with, and with overcast conditions prevailing, India had taken a bold decision to bat first. I thought Virat took this decision because he had won the last Test convincingly, and almost won the first, so he was riding a wave of confidence and wanted to start on a positive note.’’

According to Manjrekar, Virat's decision may have been motivated by the performance of the batting-unit in the first couple of Tests. But, as he pointed out, India’s batting did alright at Trent Bridge and Lord’s because the opening duo of Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul provided solid starts.

And once Rahul nicked off in the first over of the Test match, India’s middle-order was again exposed, eventually leading to a 78 all-out.

‘’You can’t fault him for that but he overestimated his batting, and it’s something I felt at the time too. Indian batting had looked good in the first two Tests only because of the way KL Rahul and Rohit Sharma had batted and this was, to be honest, against expectations considering their track record as overseas openers before the series."

He further added that a slightly more 'pragmatic' person would have decided to bowl first given the fact that batting is still the weaker suit while also pointing to the fact that the Leed track doesn't get worse on the fourth and fifth days.

‘’A slightly more pragmatic person would have thought “you know what, despite my batting holding up really well in the last two Tests, it is still my weaker area, so this is a risk and what major long term benefits am I getting by batting first? This pitch does not have a history of being unplayable for the team batting last.”

‘’As luck would have it, India lost Rahul early and the harsh reality hit Virat. India were all out 78.’’

An excellent comeback from the English team after the lows of Lord's! India all out for 78. Rohit Sharma top-scored for the visitors.#ENGvIND pic.twitter.com/9kEZnQuMRa

— 100MB (@100MasterBlastr) August 25, 2021