Statistics would suggest Virat Kohli roared back to his best after smashing an unbeaten 61-ball 122 in India’s Asia Cup Super Four clash against Afghanistan in Dubai earlier this month. However, that game was only of academic interest as both India and Afghanistan were no longer in contention for the final berth.
An absolute lack of interest, too, was quite visible in Afghans’ body language, more so after an agonising loss to Pakistan the day before crushed their hopes of making the final. But a player of Kohli’s stature is always aware of his abilities and knows how to get back to form, feels John Buchanan.
“Outstanding batsmen like Kohli do not need too much to regain their confidence and belief in their ability to score runs.
“I would suggest that one of the reasons why Kohli made the hundred was that he was in little doubt that he could and would score runs,” Australia’s twice World Cup-winning coach (in 2003 and 2007), who’s coaching Manipal Tigers currently in Legends League Cricket, told The Telegraph from Lucknow on Sunday.
It took Kohli almost three years to break the century drought. But Buchanan, like many, believed that a big score from the former India captain was around the corner. “It was just a matter of when he would be getting a big score. Kohli has now confirmed to himself that he was correct when it comes to his mindset,” the 69-year-old stated.
Warner & leadership
For sure, Kohli would be in a better state of mind at present, which certainly bodes well for India leading up to the T20 World Cup beginning next month. Just as Kohli is important to India, how David Warner performs is as significant for Australia in their assignments ahead.
With Aaron Finch quitting ODIs and no guarantee on his T20I future if the defending champions don’t succeed in the T20 World Cup, Warner said last week that he still considers leadership roles a privilege and is ready to talk to Cricket Australia (CA) about scrapping the ban imposed on him for his role in the Capetown ball-tampering incident in 2018. Expressing his views on the matter, Buchanan said: “No doubt, this (captaincy) would have a good impact on David’s batting. That’s what I think.
“But yeah, this will be an interesting question for CA to face as they had made it very clear that he was not to have any captaincy role in Australian cricket again.”
Spinners’ role
Moving on to the T20 World Cup, Buchanan didn’t wish to comment on the squad India has finalised for the showpiece event. But he doesn’t see anything wrong in the inclusion of three spinners (Axar Patel, Yuzvendra Chahal and Ravichandran Ashwin) in the Indian squad.
“Wrist spin and the spinners, especially those of Afghanistan (the likes of Rashid Khan, Mujeeb-ur Rahman and Mohammad Nabi), have been successful in the Big Bash League. I feel spinners in this World Cup will have a role to play, particularly in Adelaide, Melbourne and Sydney,” Buchanan said. Among all the teams, Buchanan believes India, Pakistan, England and hosts Australia seem to be well placed and have a fair chance of winning the Cup for their “good pace resources.”
Sri Lanka’s recent Asia Cup triumph stands them in good stead as well, but Buchanan added: “I think (conditions in) Australia and quality of the other teams will be a different story altogether.”
