"He is making mistakes he never used to" - Aakash Chopra on Virat Kohli's lean run in 2021

Aakash Chopra believes the issues Virat Kohli had addressed post the disastrous 2014 tour of England have resurfaced again over the last couple of years.

Kohli has not scored an international century in over two years. He has endured a dismal 2021 with the bat in Test cricket, having managed just 536 runs at a below-par average of 28.21 in the 11 Tests he played.

In a video shared on his YouTube channel, Aakash Chopra pointed out the biggest area of concern in Virat Kohli's batting. He said:

"The way he [Kohli] is getting out to wide deliveries, the number of times he is getting out playing the drive, it happened with him in 2014 as well. It is happening again with him now. At times, he is making mistakes he never used to."

The former India cricketer highlighted that the cover drive, which was Virat Kohli's area of strength, is leading to his downfall in recent times. Chopra elaborated:

"Sam Curran, Ngidi, Pat Cummins, Anderson, Marco Jansen - all of them got him out. I have not seen him getting out to the drive so many times like this. So there is a problem. He used to play very good cover drives earlier, it was a beautiful story but at this time, it is a problem."

Kohli scored 53 runs across his two innings in the ongoing Boxing Day Test against South Africa. In both innings, he chased wide deliveries after getting his eye in and was caught behind the wickets.

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"Virat Kohli will have to take a leaf out of Sachin Tendulkar's book" - Aakash Chopra

Virat Kohli has been lured into playing extravagant cover drives quite often

Aakash Chopra feels Virat Kohli will have to eschew the cover drive for the time being. He explained:

"What is the cure for this? He has done it earlier and will have to do it again. He will have to take a leaf out of Sachin Tendulkar's book which will say - don't drive. The second time he had gone to England, he said that he will keep leaving and will force the bowlers to come close to him."

The reputed commentator concluded by stating that the mode of Virat Kohli's dismissals and not the long wait for an international century is the real concern. Chopra observed:

"There is a problem that needs to be addressed. It is not about scoring a century, the 71st will also come, I am not talking about that at all. I am talking about a pattern getting developed where Kohli is getting out playing the drive, which was not the case earlier, or you can say between 2015 and 2019, but it has happened many times after 2019."

Aakash Chopra feels Cheteshwar Pujara's diminishing returns could also be a contributing factor in Kohli's lowly numbers. He cited the example of Sachin Tendulkar also having a lean run when Rahul Dravid's form dipped.