Former Australian batsman and current national selector Mark Waugh feels Indian skipper Virat Kohli is suffering from a “brain fade” and said his “negative thinking” is rubbing off on his teammates.
Kohli was dismissed for the second time in a row in the Bengaluru Test while shouldering arms with off-spinner Nathan Lyon trapping him in front of the wicket.
That’s a brain fade. It was very un-Kohli like. He made a point of saying ‘we need to play with much more intent in this game’ but he’s been the prime example of not actually doing that. He’s just thinking negatively because there’s men around the bat. He’s thinking if it bounces, he might get an inside edge. That’s rubbed off on a few of his teammates. Most of them have looked very tentative at the crease. As a batsman, you can’t think like that. He can hit that ball in his sleep for runs.Mark Waugh, Former Australian Cricketer
Waugh believes India's batsmen are being too defensive against Lyon and Steve O'Keefe.
In between those dismissals you don’t see the balls where one is sort of skidding and another is sort of standing up off the pitch. So there’s a bit of mental disintegration in between those balls.
"This pitch to me, it's not as bad as Pune but it's got that natural inconsistent pace and bounce in it – you see some balls turning, some keeping low,” he added.
(With inputs from PTI.)
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)