Kohli has taken his passion a little too far, says Johnson
Former pacer feels that in getting too aggressive, the India captain has lost a bit of focus
MUMBAI: India skipper Virat Kohli continues to be the only focus of the Australian media and some former players despite the thrilling cricket played so far. Ex-Australia fast bowler Mitchell Johnson has attacked the Indian skipper’s form by stating that Kohli, who has scored 46 runs in three Tests, has been more interested in poking fun at Australian rival captain Steven Smith.
“It’s one of those things we used to say as opposition players, you’d love to have him in your side because he has that passion and drive and he’s a gun player, everyone knows that,” Johnson was quoted as saying by The Daily Telegraph.
“But I reckon he has taken it a little bit too far and he’s lost a bit of his focus. I know I went through being over-aggressive sometimes and got caught up with that emotion and wasn’t thinking about what I was doing out there.
“He might have fallen into that trap and I hope he does again in the last Test as well. There’s been a fair bit of carry-on from both sides, not just Virat. But you can get Virat fired up, we’ve seen that, and it looks like he’s let his emotions take over,” Johnson said.
Johnson even claimed that Kohli has lost faith in his ability to play the cover drive.
“Australia have also bowled well to him. I think they’ve had clear plans to him, and he obviously doesn’t like to play the cover drive just outside off stump, and he looks like he’s trying to play it too straight.
“He’s been scoring a lot of runs, but he’s in a bit of a slump at the moment. When the scoreline is 1-1, you want to see the best players do well, but if Australia bowl well and get on his nerves a bit, it will be perfect for us,” said Johnson, who will soon rejoin Mumbai for the Indian Premier League.