New Delhi: Former New Zealand fast bowler Simon Doull backed senior Indian batter Virat Kohli amid barren run in the ongoing Test series against New Zealand. The 55-year-old expert admitted that the middle-order batter has struggled against spinners but that won’t hamper his gameplan when he faces the formidable Australian bowling attack Down Under in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
On Saturday, India lost to New Zealand by 113 runs in the second Test in Pune, thus ending their 12-year-long streak of 18 unbeaten home Test series. Senior batters Rohit Sharma and Virat failing to score runs was a major talking point in India’s upset in their favourable conditions.
Virat made 1 and 17 in the two innings, respectively, and was dismissed by Mitchell Santner both times. While trying to play Santner’s low-full toss across the line in the first innings, Kohli missed the shot and was cleaned up. The unconventional technique drew a lot of flak for the Indian player.
However, Doull, who played 34 Test matches for New Zealand, showed faith in Kohli’s ability of bossing against pace bowlers and opined that his current dismal batting form won’t be a concern in the five-match Border-Gavaskar Trophy, starting next month.
“There’re issues against spin but he’s not the only one. You’re not going to find those (spin-friendly) conditions in Australia. He (Kohli) had a great series Down Under,” Doull told news agency PTI.
“He plays quick bowling as well as he has for the last four or five years. So, I don’t think it’s a concern,” he added.
Doull asks India to forget about series loss against NZ
India lost its first Test series at home in 12 years with the last time they were defeated by England under the captaincy of Sir Alastair Cook. Doull asked India to move on and shift their focus to the Australia tour.
“They have to forget about this series. They could go out and win the third Test in Wankhede and go to Australia with a little bit more confidence. In Australia, quick bowlers will be required. India batters, I think, will be a lot better off on good surfaces. That’s what you tend to get in Australia,” he said.
“It’ll come down to how they play the quick bowlers from Australia – the tall, slightly bouncier bowlers. But they’ve got the batters to do the job, I think, in good conditions,” he added.
India will play the third Test match against New Zealand at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, starting on November 1.
