‘Jimmy can be tough for Kohli’
CHENNAI: Virat Kohli is a far more experienced player than what he was during his nightmarish tour of England in 2014 but Aussie great Glenn Mcgrath cautioned that an in-form Jimmy Anderson could make things tougher for the Indian captain this time too.
“Kohli is a more experienced player now. Quality player, no doubt about that. But English conditions are very tough. When you have got a bowler like Jimmy Anderson, who is bowling well now, it is going to be hard work. You got to be prepared to work hard. Kohli is a quality player so I am looking forward to that contest,” Mcgrath told mediapersons during an interaction.
Mcgrath made it clear it will be foolhardy to depend only on Kohli and in case he fails, it will give other players to raise their hands up.
“You always want your best batsman performing. However, it also gives another batsmen a chance to put his hand up and there are still some quality batsmen there, some quality players there. If India are really depending on one player, they have got it wrong...”, he added.
While Cheteshwar Pujara didn’t have a great run during the four-day games in England, the mere experience will prove to be handy, according to Mcgrath.
“I have not seen what the conditions are like in the UK. Pujara, even though he hasn’t got runs, he will be there. Just being used to the conditions, I think that will help him,” he said.
About the bowling department, Mcgrath is confident that speedsters Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Jasprit Bumrah will make a mark.
When asked who among Indian pacers could do the job in England, Mcgrath said:”bhuvi and Bumrah. They have got pretty good control. That’s what you need, especially in England. The Dukes ball has a pronounced seam.
“If you get the ball in the right areas consistently, then you are going to do well. The ball will do a little bit, so yeah.. they will do well.”
Adaptability is the key, said one of Australia’s finest fast bowler. “I think a lot of it depends on how the players adapt. You got to adapt a lot quicker these days. During my time, we used to get a couple of tour matches. They will have to adjust and adapt quicker. Obviously, there aren’t enough tour matches to really get used to the conditions. They will just have to rely on past experience,” Mcgrath said.
On the ball-tampering issue, while Mcgrath admitted that the act was naive, he feels that one year ban for Steve Smith and David Warner was a bit too harsh.