New Delhi, Dec 17 (IANS): India's top batter Virat Kohli has struggled in the second and third Tests of the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy series despite scoring an unbeaten century in the first match at Perth. The Delhi-born batter’s childhood coach Rajkumar Sharma has backed him to adapt and bounce back to form, like he has done many times before.
“He scored a century in the first match, if he has not scored in the following two innings in difficult conditions then Virat Kohli knows his game, he is a senior and knows his responsibilities towards the team. He is a great student of the game, adapts well to the conditions and I am very sure he will bounce back and there is nothing to worry about,” Sharma told IANS.
Kohli looked to be regaining form as he scored an unbeaten century in the second innings of the first Test but has gone on to score seven, 11, and three runs respectively across the next three innings.
Following his dismissal on Monday, in a similar fashion to what Indian cricket fans have gotten accustomed to, the former India opener Sunil Gavaskar criticised Kohli for not leaving the ball that was going outside his off stump. Sharma believes Gavaskar is a well-wisher of Indian cricket and hence his suggestions are always open.
“Sunil is a well-wisher of Indian cricket, he is a legend of the game and his suggestions have always been open. I believe there has not been a bigger batter than Gavaskar,” he added.
On Monday, Rohan Jaitley, the Delhi District Cricket Association (DDCA) president, won his second straight term defeating former Indian cricketer Kirti Azad.
Jaitley, the son of former Union minister Arun Jaitley, got 1,239 votes against his opponent Azad, who got 610 votes. A total of 2,413 votes were cast with the winning candidate needing 1,207 to win.
Coach Rajkumar hailed Rohan’s re-appointment claiming it was good for the game of cricket.
“It is great that Rohan has once again been elected as the President because his vision is great for cricket, just look at the improvement in facilities and infrastructure for the players during his tenure. He has been a great support for all players, be it men, women, and junior teams, so his vision is great and hopefully the game will improve even more,” he added.
“Rohan has always been open to ideas and suggestions. He often talks to me regarding my ideas and vision which I convey to him. His vision has always been to improve Delhi Cricket as a whole,” Sharma added.