On July 1, Team India will play England in the final Test of the previous year’s series, returning to the longest format of the game. Although Virat Kohli captained the team last year, Rohit Sharma will do so this time around when India takes on the Ben Stokes-led English team in the fifth and final test of the series, which India is presently winning 2-1.
Over the previous few months, Kohli has experienced some batting struggles. In the 2022 Indian Premier League, the former captain of India had a disappointing performance, scoring 341 runs in 16 innings at a dismal average of 22.73. However, one of Kohli’s countrymen playing for England, Joe Root, is having an outstanding season with the bat. Root has a magnificent average of 101.67 and has scored 305 runs in four innings during the current three-Test series against New Zealand.
Rajkumar Sharma, Kohli’s childhood coach, predicts that the Indian batter will “certainly” consider his rivalry with Root when off the field, but that once play begins, Kohli will only be concerned with the match.
“Both players are outstanding. Having healthy competition with someone who has outperformed you, gone before you, or has a better record than you is constantly present in the back of your mind. When you’re sitting in a hotel or changing rooms, you undoubtedly think about it, Sharma told India News.
“When you reach the boundary line, you forget about this rivalry because you simply have to wait for the next ball and focus on finding ways to score runs”. Joe Root or anyone else doesn’t come to mind.
The 33-year-old batter’s tough period with the bat was also discussed in length by Kohli’s former instructor, who emphasised that the batter must keep things simple. But right now, Virat needs to play naturally and achieve the massive score he has been seeking for a long time. “Since it has been so long, I have every confidence that he will act quickly,” added Sharma.
In terms of triple figures, Virat has undoubtedly scored runs elsewhere, but his conversion rate was excellent earlier. Once he used to reach 30-35 runs, everyone used to expect that he would score big and a hundred would surely be scored, but currently that has not happened.
