Virat Kohli believes two new balls in ODI cricket is a nightmare for bowlers

Back in 2011, the International Cricket Council (ICC) amended its rules and introduced the usage of two new balls in ODI cricket. It meant the element of reverse-swing was invariably fizzled out of the game. Consequently, the batsmen meted out some harsh treatments to the bowlers. Scores above 300 have become a regularity as bowling in the death has turned out to be an arduous task.

Recently, England notched the highest ever score of 481 versus Australia at the Trent Bridge in Nottingham. Centuries from Alex Hales and Johnny Bairstow ensured that they racked up the humongous score. Virat Kohli, the skipper of the Indian team, is definitely concerned with the rule and believes that it does nothing, but make the bowlers helpless, especially on flat tracks.

“It’s very difficult for the bowlers”- Virat

“I’ve read a lot of things about two new balls and I agree it’s brutal for the bowlers. There’s hardly any room for attacking cricket left from a bowler’s point of view if you do not provide pitches that assist them with the new ball,” Kohli was quoted as saying in a press conference prior to the national team’s departure to the United Kingdom (UK).

“I have played ODI cricket when there was only one new ball allowed and reverse swing used to be a massive factor in the latter half of the innings which as a batsman was more challenging. Nowadays, I honestly feel that, yeah, it’s very difficult for the bowlers with two new balls and if the pitch is flat they have no way out,” the Delhi-born cricketer added.

His opinion concurs with that of his idol Sachin Tendulkar who had after the England vs Australia 4th ODI tweeted that the use of two new balls has brought an end to reverse swing in white-ball cricket.

Virat also talked about the significance of having wrist spinners in the team in order to restrict the batsmen on decent batting pitches. “Unless you have wrist spinners in your team which can do the job in the middle overs. Not every team has that cushion so they find it difficult,” the 29-year old remarked.

Talking about wrist-spinners, the Men in Blue have a couple of them in Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav, who have proved their mettle in different playing conditions. India’s tour of the UK starts with a two-match T20I series versus Ireland on June 27 and June 29 respectively.

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