Before India’s tour of New Zealand 2020, almost every member of the cricket universe agreed to the fact that Indian captain, Virat Kohli is the best batsman in the world. However, suddenly, now many of them have backed off as the right-handed batsman could aggregate lesser runs than Mohammed Shami in the Test series against New Zealand. Shami, who is not even a part of the Top 100 of the ICC rankings, dismantled the New Zealand bowlers with his big shots.
On the other hand, Virat Kohli could not do so. He tried his best to play in a defensive manner however, he failed. Then he switched to the aggressive style of playing just to fail once again. This has led to a massive question mark over the Indian skipper’s form especially given that he tamed the same New Zealand bowlers when they visited India a few years ago.
So, what could be the reason behind Virat Kohli’s failure in New Zealand? Here’s a detailed analysis of the same.
Speaking of the off field things first, the Indian captain directly called out the team management on the first day of the New Zealand tour, citing that the organizers should plan a proper schedule where cricketers can get proper rest. Playing series after series is not helping the cricket players besides, it is even resulting in the lack of fan interest.
India kicked off the year with a 3-match T20I series against Sri Lanka. Then, they played ODIs against Australia before boarding a flight to New Zealand after a mini break. Soon after returning from New Zealand, they will battle South Africa at home. 6 Indian players will fly to Bangladesh to take part in the Asia XI vs World XI series. Then, there is a long IPL tournament. So, the physical and mental abilities of players take a major beating.
Once you get that thing in your mind, it keeps on hurting that you should have been resting at home still you are burning your body in the testing conditions of New Zealand. Never ever in the history of Indian cricket did the Men in Blue play a bilateral series against three different teams in the space of three weeks.
He was already under so much pressure after the ODI series loss against New Zealand that he could not have been able to prepare well for the Test series. So, the fans should understand that the biggest reason behind Virat Kohli’s failure in New Zealand is not his troubles against swing and pace. He had overcome those issues in England. But, the key issue is the scheduling.
