Dubai: Indian superstar Virat Kohli meant business a day before the marquee clash against Pakistan in the Champions Trophy as he arrived at the ICC Academy two hours before scheduled practice time to iron out his issues against spin.
Kohli, who was troubled by the ball outside off-stump from the pacers on the Test tour of Australia, has been found vulnerable against spin in the recent ODIs he has played.
The 36-year-old fell to leg-spinner Rishad Hossain in India’s opening Champions Trophy game against Bangladesh Thursday, his sixth dismissal in a row against spinners in ODIs.
He was caught at backward point while trying to cut Hossain. In the preceding series against England at home, leg spinner Adil Rashid had got the better of Kohli.
The former India captain will have to deal with the likes of Abrar Ahmed when India takes on Pakistan at the Dubai International Stadium Sunday.
Irrespective of his form, Kohli’s commitment to the game remains unquestionable, and his exemplary work ethic was on full display as he arrived for training well before his teammates, who also showed up an hour earlier than the scheduled time, and was the last to leave.
It was not a surprise that the majority of the net bowlers he faced were spinners, including a couple of leg-break bowlers, as many off-spinners and a left-arm spinner.
Pakistan have a part time left-arm spinner in Khushdil Shah, while Salman Agha bowls off-spin.
With due respect to the opposition, Indian batters would be fancying themselves against the Pakistan spin attack. The main challenge for them will come from the pace trio of Shaheen Afridi, Haris Rauf and Naseem Shah who all are under pressure after an underwhelming opening game against New Zealand.
While India are sitting comfortably after the win over Bangladesh, Pakistan find themselves in a must-win situation.
The wicket is expected to be on the slower side, bringing a battery of Indian spinners into the game.
India have five spinners in the squad, including two specialists in Kuldeep Yadav and Varun Chakravarthy, while the all-rounders who bowl spin are Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel and Washington Sundar.
