Speaking on the matter, former India coach Ravi Shastri advised Kohli not to drop the pace on his innings after starting.
Citing the Delhi Capitals’ Phil Salt innings as an example, Shastri said Kohli should try to raise the bar once he starts.
Kohli’s approach was called into question after hitting 55-for-46 in a losing cause against the Delhi Capitals at Feroz Shah Kotla on Saturday night.
It was his sixth over fifty points of the season, but the pace of his innings likely cost the team another 20 points.
When asked if the middle order of the underperforming RCB forces Kohli to play deep, Shastri told ESPNcricinfo that the Indian superstar doesn’t have to worry about the form of other hitters.
“Once you gain tempo, don’t change, don’t worry about others. That will be my message to Virat. Let them do their job. In a T20 game, you don’t need so much drummers. If you’re hot keep it up. The best example of that was Phil Salt. You saw the way he was hitting. Once he got into the groove, he didn’t let go.
“It took the pressure off the other batsmen. That said, even them were hammering whether it was Marsh or Roussow. So that’s something that could be there from Virat’s point of view. If he goes, don’t change your tempo, try and raise the bar,” Shastri said referring to Phil Salt’s game which won 87 out of 45 balls for Delhi.
Former Australian cricketer Tom Moody feels with the introduction of the ‘impact player’ the game has really evolved from this style of cricket (in depth).
“That’s why we see so many totals going to 200+. There’s no such role. We all have to go here to 150+ without a doubt because we have the comfort of depth,” Moody said. , former coach of Sunrisers Hyderabad. .
Kohli, after his 44-ball 61 against Lucknow Super Giants, had defended his batting style, saying playing the role of anchor was important.
“There are a lot of people who, because they haven’t been in that situation themselves, look at the game differently.
“Suddenly when the power play is over they’re like, ‘oh, they started to spin the strike.’ When you haven’t lost a wicket in the power play, usually the better player comes to the bowl, you try to figure out what to do against him in the first two overs, so you can get big in the last two overs from this guy and the rest of the innings become a lot easier,” he said.
Speaking about India and Mumbai Indians captain Rohit Sharma, Shastri said the lack of points also impacted his captaincy.
Rohit has only managed 184 runs in 10 innings so far.
“If you start to get a purple stain where you’re scoring points, the job of captain becomes a lot easier, the body language on the pitch changes, that energy on the pitch is different than when you’re not getting points. You can go flat no matter who you are,” Shastri said.
“That’s where as a captain it’s more important that your performance comes into play. It’s more difficult now because of the stage of his career, the type of team they have.
“The same team could be a great team in a year or two, once they start to gel. But to get that right mix, that’s the captain’s job.”
The former India head coach said Rohit’s challenges as a leader could have doubled given a weaker squad at his disposal compared to the Mumbai champion outfits of the past.
“The resources you had two or three years ago are not quite the same. The challenges as a captain might have doubled for him. The work as a captain would have doubled compared to a year ago. two years, when everything was fine, together – go out there and get the job done,” he added.
(With PTI entries)
