Greg Chappell on how Kohli and Rohit can revive themselves in Australia | Cricket News
After their dismal show in the series against New Zealand at home, India stalwarts Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, without a doubt, are under immense pressure ahead of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. The India legends may lack the youthful vigour they once had but they have adapted their games to survive the rigour of modern day cricket.
As both star batters are going through a lean patch, the series against Australia could be decisive to their future career paths. Former India coach and Australian great Greg Chappell feels the duo needs to take cues from their past to mend the present. In other words take inspiration from their younger days when the focus was entirely on scoring runs and not conditions.
Chappell, in his column for The Sydney Morning Herald, recalled a conversion he had with Sachin Tendulkar in 2005. The Master Blaster wanted to know why batting gets harder as one grows older.
“I explained to him that the mental demands of batting intensify with age: “Batting gets harder because you realise how hard it is to make runs at this level and how difficult it is to maintain the mental focus that is required to be successful. It is not the eyesight or the reflexes that drop off; it is the intense focus that is required that becomes harder to sustain. When one is younger, the mind is focused on making runs,” Chappell mentioned in his column.
Chappell wants Kohli and Rohit to take cues from this conversation and summon the drive they hand when they were younger. “A younger player often focuses solely on scoring runs, unburdened overthinking pitch conditions, match situation or their own weaknesses,” he wrote.
