Former India head coach Anil Kumble, on Friday, reignited the debate around Virat Kohli’s non-participation in domestic cricket in the lead-up to the long Test season after the batter incurred the “most unusual” dismissal on Day 2 of the second Test against New Zealand in Pune. Kohli was dismissed for just one run as Mitchell Santner inflicted a collapse, en route to his seven-wicket haul, to fold India for 156 runs in the first innings.
Kohli was undone by a poor shot selection against a low full toss from the left-arm orthodox spinner. He went down on one knee and looked to play the hack across the line, but the ball snuck under the bat and rattled against the middle and leg stump. The former India captain was left in disbelief, and the Pune crowd was in stunned silence as the commentator labelled it the most “un-Kohli dismissal.”
Although the dismissal was part of an Indian batting collapse before Lunch, with the hosts losing six wickets for just 53 runs, cricket experts most dissected Kohli’s dismissal both on-air and during the session break.
Kumble, who was in conversation with JioCinema after India were left reeling at 107/7 at the end of the opening session on Day 2, reckoned that Kohli should have played domestic cricket as a means to gear up for the long Test calendar for India, although he did not stress on it being the only reason behind the batter’s struggle against spin.
He said, “Perhaps just one or two innings in a match situation could have helped. Being in an actual game is definitely more beneficial than just practice; it gives an upper hand. If he feels that playing earlier would have benefited him, and the team management agrees, then maybe it would have. However, I don’t think we can look at that as the only reason for his struggles against spin.”
Kohli has notably been dismissed 21 times in 26 innings against spinners on Asian soil in the last three years, where he averages 28 against the variety. 10 of those came against left-arm orthodox spinners.
“When he’s come to the crease, the pitches have often favored spin, which is a significant factor. His challenges against spin at the start of his innings haven’t been solely due to mindset but also conditions that aided spinners. This contributed to the dismissals of Shubman Gill and Virat Kohli to the left-arm spin of Glenn Phillips, who was brought on as a strategic move. Even the best modern-day batters find these situations tricky,” Kumble explained.
Should Kohli have played domestic cricket?
In the lead-up to the Bangladesh home series last month, many India regulars were named in the Duleep Trophy squad, albeit for a single match in a bid to provide them with match practice ahead of the contest. The likes of Rishabh Pant, Akash Deep, Yashasvi Jaiswal, among many others were part of the domestic red-ball tournament, but seniors players in Kohli, Rohit Sharma among few were not named with BCCI not willing to take an injury risk.
BCCI’s call was, however, dismissed by the likes of former cricketers Sanjay Manjrekar and Sunil Gavaskar.
