Former India captain and head coach Anil Kumble feels that Virat Kohli is trying too hard to return to form and in turn, is putting too much pressure on himself. Kohli took 38 balls to score only 22 runs with one four before getting out to leg-spinner Rishad Hossain. His struggles against spin were very much evident even as his form in the format is becoming a concern for Team India as well.
The former India skipper has scored only 137 runs in six innings in ODIs since the 2023 World Cup with only one half-century that came recently in the third ODI against England. "Having been through a lean patch, so to speak, especially in white-ball cricket - he hasn't had that kind of run for a long period of time - I feel he's trying a bit too hard," Kumble said while speaking to ESPNCricinfo.
Interestingly, the 36-year-old has been dismissed by spinners in all of those six innings and in that - five times by the leg-spinners. Kumble suggested Kohli to relax and not think about the outcome at all. Instead, he wants India's best ODI batter to play with freedom.
"To start off against spin, on surfaces like that, you need a lot of confidence. He's certainly trying too hard to manoeuvre that. He's a good player of spin when he's in form, when he's wanting to just knock singles off and keep rotating the strike.
"All players go through tough moments in their career, but I get a feeling watching him bat, I think he is putting a lot more pressure on himself. he just needs to relax a little bit and not worry too much about the outcome of what happens on the field rather than just go out there and have the freedom to just go and play naturally what he does really well," Kumble added.