Legendary India opener Virender Sehwag jumped into the defence of current skipper Virat Kohli after the latter went through a lean patch in the recently-concluded tour of New Zealand. He could score only one half-century across 11 innings in the all the three formats and the lack of runs in the Test series was one of the biggest factors behind India’s struggle. After winning the T20I series 5-0, India were blanked 0-3 and 0-2 in the ODI and Test series respectively.
Sehwag stated every player goes through a bad phase and Kohli is no different. Also, Sehwag didn’t agree with former India skipper Kapil Dev, who said Kohli needs to practice more considering his reflexes and eyesight might have slowed down.
“When you are out of form, nothing works for you. It is not that Virat is not making efforts but luck has deserted him,” Sehwag was quoted as saying by Sportstar. “Virat certainly doesn’t have hand-eye coordination issues. Your hand-eye issue deteriorates over a period of time. Not overnight. I am sure it is just lack of form. Also, he has got out to good deliveries.”
“Here (in New Zealand) the ball has seamed a lot and if you are not getting runs then the challenge multiplies. Of course, you can adapt, playing more on the front foot, by leaving the ball.
“For me, it is important to know which ball to leave and you can do that when you are feeling confident. The pressure also may have got to Virat,” he added.
Kapil had earlier told ABP News: “When you reach a certain age, when you cross 30 then it affects your eyesight. In swings, which used to be his strength, he used to flick them four but now he has been dismissed twice. So I think he needs to adjust his eyesight a bit. When big players start getting bowled or LBW to incoming deliveries then you have to tell them to practice more. It shows that your eyes and your reflexes have slowed down a bit and in no time your strengths turn into your weakness.”
