New Delhi: Indian Test skipper Virat Kohli recieved backing from Australian opener David Warner, who believes it’s only about time that Kohli gets back to his old rhythm. Lauding Kohli for the high standards he has set for himself with his performances in the past, Warner said we have to understand the situation from his point of view and he has earned the right to fail because he is so good at what he does.
Virat Kohli might be on the verge of becoming the first Indian captain of winning a Test series in South Africa, however, he has been under pressure as well because of the lack of runs from his bat. Kohli has endured a lean patch in international cricket for a while now as he continues to wait for his 71st century. Kohli had last scored a hundred for India in the Pink-ball Test against Bangladesh in 2019 and since then he has not managed to breach the mark even once across all three formats of the game.
“A lot of people talk about Virat Kohli’s form over the last couple of years. We have gone through a pandemic. He has just had a baby. We only see how well he has done. You are allowed to fail. You have earned the right to fail when you are so good at what you do,” Warner said in sports journalist Boria Majumdar’s chat show ‘ Backstage with Boria’.
David Warner 🤝🏻 Virat Kohli#India #Australia pic.twitter.com/wd5j4qh1qj
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Kohli, who is currently leading India in three-match Test series in Johannesburg has scored four fifties in 2021, however, in the last four innings, his returns have been 0, 36, 35 and 18 and with no more burden of captaincy in all formats on his shoulder, the 33-year old would hope to be back to his best sooner rather than later. Under his captaincy, India won the first Test of the series in Centurion and became the first Asian team to achieve this feat.
Warner also cited the example of Australia teammate Steve Smith, saying that batters like Smith and Kohli face “a lot more pressure”.
“People say Steve Smith doesn’t score a century in his fourth innings because stats say he scores a century every four innings. He is human. You are allowed to have a rough trot. That is why there are a lot more pressure on those guys. But would not feel the pressure, I guarantee that,” Warner added.
