Sunil Gavaskar is ready to help Virat Kohli in his struggle to regain form. The legendary batsman has said that all he needs is “20 minutes” to share with Kohli his advice that might help the latter sort out his batting woes, especially his problems outside the off-stump.

“If I had about 20 minutes with him, I would be able to tell him the things he might have to do. It might help him, I am not saying it will help him, but it could, particularly with regard to that off-stump line,” Gavaskar told India Today.

“Having been an opening batter, having been troubled by that line, there are certain things that you try and do,” he added. Kohli has been out of his usual form for more than two and-a-half years now. In India’s recent tour of England, the former India captain could manage just 76 runs from six innings across three formats. Opinions have been divided over Kohli. While some, like Kapil Dev, believe that if his lean patch continues, his place in the team should go to a more deserving candidate, others, like Shoaib Akhtar and Kevin Pietersen, think that such criticism about a great batsman is unnecessary. Gavaskar thinks Kohli’s “anxiety” is making him play “at every delivery”.

“It goes back to the fact that his first mistake turns out to be his last. Again, just because he is not amongst the runs, there is this anxiety to play at every delivery because that is what batters feel, they have got to score,” Gavaskar said. “You look to play at deliveries that you otherwise won’t. But he has gotten out to good deliveries as well on this particular tour (of England).”

‘Responsible’ Rishabh

Gavaskar has been impressed with Rishabh Pant’s batsmanship against England. Pant smashed a sparkling century at Old Trafford to help India seal the three-game ODI series 2-1. “Rishabh Pant seems to have learned from his mistakes against South Africa. He chased balls outside offstump to slog them over the leg side then, but the way he batted with responsibility (on Sunday) shows how well he paced his innings,” the 73-year-old said. “The way he smashed a flurry of boundaries towards the end showed that he is someone who can absorb pressure and attack. We will need to wait and see (whether Pant is able to replicate this form in T20Is). He might have found the right template to play white ball cricket.”