Playing Tim Southee will be a concern for Virat Kohli, says former coach

With the World Test Championship (WTC) final around the corner, a lot of hopes will be pinned on Indian skipper Virat Kohli to help his nation to a prestigious title. Kohli is yet to win an ICC trophy with the national side as captain. Winning the WTC would therefore be a significant step for him to get out of former skipper MS Dhoni’s shadow when it comes to trophies. Kohli is regarded as one of the best batters in world cricket at the moment and his side will be dependent on him to score big runs. However, he will have to overcome a stern test in Kiwi pacer Tim Southee.

Kohli’s childhood coach, Rajkumar Sharma, reckons that overcoming the Southee test will be crucial for the batter in a recent interaction on India News. He also believes that it will be an area of concern for the Indian skipper as the pacer has dismissed him 10 times in his career. With English conditions that usually favor fast bowlers, Kohli will have his work cut out for him.

“It is not that Virat Kohli doesn’t know where he has made a mistake but despite that Southee has dismissed him ten times, so it is definitely a point of concern and I feel Virat will work on this and leave more balls outside the off-stump,” Sharma said.

DIFFICULT LENGTH

Sharma said that the length at which Southee bowls makes it difficult for batters to ascertain whether to play him or leave the delivery. He also believes that the Kiwi pacer becomes unplayable if he gets a little help from the wicket.

“The nagging length which Southee bowls, you need to decide if you have to play or leave the ball. He is bowling very well and his ball is swinging nicely. He becomes unplayable if it is even a slightly helpful wicket,” he said.

“This contest has been going on for a long time, from the under-19 days when they were playing together, Southee for New Zealand and Kohli for India. So, somewhere or the other Southee has been seen bowling with a very good strategy against Virat. Because of that only he has dismissed him ten times. The cover drive is Virat’s favorite shot. So Virat will have to think about showing restraint while playing the cover drive because he has got out in the slips quite a few times while playing that shot,” Sharma concluded.