Former England cricketer Michael Vaughan feels the Indian skipper Virat Kohli is in no mental state at the minute which is why he is struggling in the series so far against England.
In the third test match, at Headingley, Virat Kohli was dismissed for just seven runs by James Anderson, who took his wicket for the second time in the series. The pacer bowled a fuller delivery which moved slightly away from Kohli, who attempted a drive but instead edged it to the wicket-keeper Jos Buttler. The right-handed Indian batsman averages just 17.25, scoring 69 runs in four innings.
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Michael Vaughan feels that Virat Kohli is too anxious and desperate to get runs in the series. He added that the Indian skipper played patiently on the 2018 England tour, but hasn’t done that so far this time. Vaughan said to Cricbuzz,
“Virat Kohli is in no mental state at the minute. I’m looking at the way he’s playing throughout this series. He’s anxious, he’s desperate, he’s going to the ball a little bit too soon. When he got all those runs last time he was here, he was patient, he left the ball, he wore Anderson down, he waited for those straight balls. He’s not done that so far in this series.”
India are selecting some players purely on reputation: Michael Vaughan
Michael Vaughan also highlighted the failure of India’s middle-order batsmen Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane. Pujara averages 17.75 in this series, while Rahane averages 21.25. The duo put together a vital partnership in the last test, but could not convert it into a big one. Vaughan feels India is selecting players purely on reputation.
“I think India are selecting some of these players now purely on reputation. Rahane and Pujara played okay in the second innings at Lord’s. India are backing these players purely on reputation,” Michael Vaughan said.