Stop thinking as captain when you go out to bat: Inzamam-ul-Haq advice to Virat Kohli

Former Pakistan skipper Inzamam-ul-Haq has advised Virat Kohli to not think as a captain when he is batting out in the middle.

Kohli has been struggling as a batsman in the last two years as he hasn’t scored an International hundred in his last 50 innings.

Kohli was averaging 19 in 2020 and he is averaging around 25 in 2021. The talisman hasn’t been at his best as he has been found meddling with the outside off-stump deliveries, which he could have left easily. Kohli hasn’t been patient in his approach in the initial stages and he hasn’t been able to convert his starts into substantial scores.

Kohli has done a fine job as the captain of the lead as he has led with aplomb but the same confidence has been missing in his game as a batsman.

Inzamam urged Kohli to play his natural game and don’t overthink as a captain when he is batting at the crease.

Inzy said while talking on his YouTube Channel, “Everyone knows that Virat Kohli is the No. 1 player in the world. His touch as a class player is missing so far. If he wants to come out of this rut, Kohli needs to play his strokes and go back to his natural game. He is putting too much pressure on himself.”

“My suggestion to Kohli will be – stop thinking like a captain when you go out to bat. He needs to remember that he is Virat Kohli. He needs to bat just the way Virat Kohi does.

Kohli must keep all the other stuff related to captaincy aside when he bats. If he goes in thinking as captain every time, his natural fluency and power gets affected, which can be seen. Yes, it’s a big series but Kohli must remember that he has performed on the big stage before. But he seems to have gone into his shell and needs to come out of it.”

On the other hand, the former Pakistan skipper feels England is overly reliant on the shoulders of Joe Root whereas a lot of Indian players can play a big knock.

“England has one Joe Root, India has many players who can play big knocks. But Ajinkya Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara are consuming too many balls and then get out to good balls. They need to start attacking a bit. If Rohit Sharma starts to play freely, he too can be more effective and put pressure back on England.”

Meanwhile, England were 423-8 at the end of second day as they lead by a gargantuan margin of 345 runs and thus it will be a tough task for India to save the ongoing Test at Leeds.