Virat Kohli's Batting Technique Bewilders Sunil Gavaskar

During the recent Test series against Australia, Virat Kohli was virtually unbeatable with the red ball. Get a white ball and seam it off a pacy track, Kohli's batting technique goes for a toss. That's exactly what has happened in the first two ODIs in the tri-nation series with former India cricketer Sunil Gavaskar faulting Kohli's technique for his paltry scores of nine and four against Australia (at Melbourne) and England (at Brisbane), respectively. (3rd ODI Scorecard | Report | Highlights)

In the four Tests against Australia which concluded earlier this month, Kohli smashed 692 runs at an average of 86.50. He failed to take that momentum into the ODIs, the extra pace and movement of a white ball getting the better of his broad bat. (Also read: All play, no rest! Is fatigue hurting Indian cricketers?)

Gavaskar feels it is the Delhi batsman's change in approach that is working against him. "What he is doing wrong is that he's trying something different at the moment," he told NDTV after India lost to England by nine wickets in Brisbane on Tuesday. "He's looking to go on the front foot and then jumping on the back foot. His head is bobbing up and down. In cricket, the head needs to be steady to judge the bounce."

Kohli has fallen to pacers in both the ODIs that India have played and lost. Against the Aussies, he tried a short-arm jab against James Faulkner only to get a top-edge. Against England on Tuesday, he tried to dab a rising delivery with the ball kissing the edge before flying to the wicketkeeper. (Sunil Gavaskar vs Wasim Akram: The great debate on Team India's bowling)

"In both his dismissals, Kohli's little jumps have put him off balance," observed Gavaskar. Interestingly, Kohli has been standing at least 12 inches outside the crease on Australian wickets.

For those who have followed Kohli's batting closely, the problem is not new. He struggled in the ODI series in England as well with scores of 4, 13, 1*, 40 and 0 in his last few matches against the opposition. The 26-year-old adjusted his technique - even asking Sachin Tendulkar for guidance - before hitting  22, 49, 53, 66 and 139*against Sri Lanka at home.

Batting at home and performing abroad though is turning out to be a different ball game for India's vice-captain, who has even dropped himself to No. 4 in the batting order. Gavaskar though feels the position in the line-up is not a factor for Kohli and that he will continue to bat there.

"In the last ODI series, against Sri Lanka, he was dropped down the order when he was not in form and he hit a century," Gavaskar said. "My feeling is that they (team management) look at Kohli as a No. 4 batsman."

For someone who is second only to South African 'Atom Bomb' AB de Villiers in ODI rankings, Kohli will be India's main weapon in the World Cup starting next month. With less than a month left for the event, he would be well-advised to refurbish his technique to revive his form - one that can galvanise Indian batting in the all-important event.