‘He should give a quick call to Sachin Tendulkar’ – Sunil Gavaskar’s advice for Virat Kohli to address batting woes

Legendary batter Sunil Gavaskar has advised Virat Kohli to seek Sachin Tendulkar’s help to regain his form with the bat. The 32-year-old Kohli hasn’t had the best of times in international cricket over the last 24 months as he hasn’t scored a single century during this period. Though he has notched a number of half-centuries, a score in the three-figure mark has continued to elude him.

The ongoing Test series against England has pretty much been a nightmare for Kohli on the personal front, albeit India won the second game at the Lord’s by 151 runs. Gavaskar sounded concerned for the reason that the Delhi-born batter has looked vulnerable outside the off-stump by playing away from the body.

Sunil Gavaskar opines

“That is a bit of a worry for me because he is getting dismissed at the fifth, sixth and even seventh stump. In 2014, he was getting out more around the off-stump,” Gavaskar was quoted as saying on Sony Sports Network.

Gavaskar was clear cut in saying that Kohli should talk to the Master Blaster on an immediate basis to address his batting issues. The veteran also put forth the example of Tendulkar’s knock in Sydney in 2004 as a template for Kohli to follow.

“He should give a quick call to Sachin Tendulkar and ask ‘what should I do?’. He should do what Sachin Tendulkar did in Sydney. Say to himself that I am not going to play the cover drive,” he added.

Back in 2014 when Virat had a horrendous time on the England tour, he had contacted Tendulkar. Later that year, he gained back his form and also became India’s full-time Test skipper following MS Dhoni’s retirement from the purest format.

In the current Test series, Virat has had scores of 0, 42, 20 and seven thus far. James Anderson went on to dismiss him for the seventh time in the longest format. Ollie Robinson and Sam Curran have also been able to get under Kohli’s skin.

As far as the ongoing game is concerned, England are leading by 42 runs with all their 10 first-innings wickets intact. Earlier, India were shot out for 78 after the Three Lions’ pace bowlers wreaked havoc.