IPL 2023: Virat Kohli has been in decent form but failed to impact in the post-PowerPlay phase. Meanwhile, Graeme Smith has come up with valuable advice on increasing his scoring rate in the phase.
Former South Africa captain Graeme Smith wants Virat Kohli to use different scoring options like the sweep shot against spinners post powerplay after the star India batter's "taking the game deep" approach has come under criticism. Kohli has scored more than 400 runs opening the innings for Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in this Indian Premier League (IPL) at a strike rate of 133-plus, but he has not been able to force the pace of scoring in the middle overs.
"It is difficult to say if someone has been such a great batter. A couple of things that stand out for me are the Indian batters around Virat at RCB, and they are way short. The middle order has struggled after No. 3. They have tried a few combinations. Then at Nos 5 and 6, they have struggled, and pressure has been put on Virat [Kohli], Faf [du Plessis] and [Glenn] Maxwell to be main performers. If RCB can find some support areas, it can free up Virat even more," Smith, an expert for Jio Cinema in IPL, told PTI during an interaction.
Unlike record former five-time champion Mumbai Indians' (MI) batter Suryakumar Yadav, a fine exponent of playing the sweep shot, Kohli's scoring areas are more traditional. "We know Virat doesn't sweep much against spin, and he plays down the ground. And, if you had to set fields, probably you can do so and control his boundary count after the six overs, and that's maybe an area he can assess," added Smith.
Smith agreed with his one-time rival Ricky Ponting that anchor batters have no place, especially in Indian conditions. "Look, I agree with Ricky in terms of his sentiment. The only thing I would add is that conditions need to be considered. In India, there is no place for anchor batters and scores in this IPL have been high and even higher with Impact Players and sometimes needing 215, 220 to be in the game," he said.
"The way the game has changed, PowerPlay is slightly more manageable as more fielders are in the ring. As soon as the field is spread and spinners come into play, people like SKY have changed the game, and they are so dynamic that they score all over the ground. They sweep and make it difficult as they are mentally ready to take on the game constantly," reckoned Smith.
Jaiswal is knocking down door
Smith termed young Yashasvi Jaiswal an incredible performer knocking on the national team door with all ferocity, having already scored 575 runs. "He [Jaiswal] has been incredible. I have watched his domestic performances and growth in his game from last season. The natural ability to find gaps and increased his strength on the leg side and hasn't got out to spin, which is a huge positive," the southpaw said.
"...and he has got a pretty good all-round game, but when you speak to him, what comes out is that he is very determined. He takes a lot in his stride, and there's pressure now on him to get higher honours, and how he handles is superb," added Smith.
"In terms of getting selected [in the Indian team], he is certainly knocking down the door with performances, and that's all he can do. Indian cricket is blessed to have so many options. India has Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Shubman Gill and selectors have some nice headaches as he [Jaiswal] has certainly put his name in conversation," Smith continued.
Smith, a former director of Cricket South Africa (CSA), also feels that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and national selectors need a clear-cut policy for T20 teams and also decide on some senior stars' future in the shortest format.
"One thing Indian cricket needs to decide is the strategy on senior players and in T20 cricket, what is their plan going forward with white ball tourney every year. The area starting to look strong is middle-order with Tilak Verma, SKY and Jitesh. You have got a lot of power players. With [skipper] Hardik [Pandya] as an all-rounder, the middle order looks powerful, and the big call will be the future of senior players," he concluded.
(With inputs from PTI)