Asia Cup 2022: Virat Kohli changed technique: IND vs HKG: Former India player Sanjay Manjrekar observed Virat Kohli’s batting quite closely in the India vs Pakistan Asia Cup encounter on Sunday. He noticed some minor changes to Kohli’s batting technique, which his excited him as the Delhi man is in need of good scores to end his run drought. Follow India vs HongKong live match updates with InsideSport.IN
It is important to note that the player took rest from cricket. He gave the Zimbabwe and West Indies series a miss and come back fresh for the Asia Cup.
In the opening match against Pakistan, Kohli was visibly rusty. He even played and missed a few times, and some of the shots did not hit the middle of the bat too. However, there was a conscious effort to score runs, and play positive cricket. Despite lack of form under his belt, Kohli took on the Pakistan bowlers, who tried to bounce him out as well. At the end, he was out for 34-ball 35.
However, Manjrekar, who is one of the commentators for the Asia Cup, kept a close eye on all his batting movements. What excited him was how Kohli was trying to be a bit different, including his backfoot play as well.
“If you remember he played three pulls in that innings. There was one hook that went for six, but there were a couple of pull shots that he played and those are the things that I look for you know as an analyst. This is what excites me whether he’s trying to do anything different. Just getting a little bit technical, before the ball was delivered,” Manjrekar said on Sports18 sports news show ‘Sports Over The Top’.
“On two occasions, he actually had a trigger movement where he went back in the crease, which meant that I think finally somebody’s got to him where he is now exploring the back foot play a little more. There was a catch dropped again on the front foot reaching for the ball. So, if he starts mixing back foot aggression, I’m not saying back foot defence. Back foot aggression along with front foot aggression, life might just get better, and those signs were seen in that innings against Pakistan.”
🏋️♂️🫶 pic.twitter.com/g7u7GvDIae
— Virat Kohli (@imVkohli) August 30, 2022
Kohli hits the gym: The former India captain, irrespective of his batting form, is a fitness freak. Many of the current bunch of Indian cricketers credit him for the high fitness standards that he has brought into the team. The player posted some pictures on the social media, performing some light weight training.
All eyes on Kohli for Hong Kong game: With lack of runs under his belt, Kohli will hope to be back amongst the runs when India square off against Hong Kong. Though the opponent are regarded as minnows in world cricket, it could be a perfect opportunity for Kohli to get back his confidence with a good score.
However, his biggest test will come against other nations in the Asia Cup. There is a serious need to get back to his scoring ways, especially with the T20 World Cup coming up in Australia in October.
