Virat Kohli's technique is not made for the new ball: Pujara

Former Indian Test batter Cheteshwar Pujara has questioned Virat Kohli’s technique against the new ball following yet another failure in the third Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Brisbane. It was a typical Kohli dismissal, with him chasing a wide delivery and edging it behind the stumps.

"We were discussing that he has been forced to play the new ball. He has gotten out whenever he has played the new ball. When he played the old ball, he scored a hundred in Perth. So that's also a very big point," Times of India quoted Pujara as saying.

"His technique is not made for the new ball. His batting should come after 10, 15 or 20 overs. If he plays the new ball, the bowlers are fresh, and their confidence is also high. When they get two wickets, the entire team is charged up. So when you come to bat at that stage, it's not easy.”

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Kohli is having a terrible year with the bat in all formats. The right-handed batter has been mediocre in red-ball cricket for almost five years but his numbers this year has been even worse - 376 runs in 17 innings @ 25.07. 

In the ongoing series against Australia, Kohli has managed only 126 runs in five innings. And 100 of those 126 runs came in the second innings of the first Test when India were already in a winning position. Kohli has also failed to get into the double digits in three out of five innings.

"When the bowling is happening in just one area, on the fourth to sixth stump, and he is playing that and getting out, it's not a good thing. He understands that himself. We saw in the net session as well that he was leaving balls in that area, but that execution is not happening in the match," said Pujara.

"In the match, for some reason, he wants to leave the ball but is unable to, and the bat is going there. So he will have to stop himself. He will have to change his mindset. There is a technical part that you are playing a delivery outside off-stump. However, if you have to leave the same delivery, it's not a very big technical adjustment but he needs to make a bigger mental adjustment.”

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