If I had about 20 minutes with him, I might be able to help: Gavaskar offers to help struggling Virat Kohli

Bengaluru, July 19: Former Indian skipper Virat Kohli has been out of form for nearly three years and the legendary Sunil Gavaskar feels he can help Kohli regain his touch by sorting his batting woes.

Kohli, who has 70 international hundreds under his belt, endured another tough outing during the recently concluded England series, scoring just 76 runs from six innings across all formats, including the rescheduled fifth Test and two ODIs of the three match ODI series and two T20Is of the three-match series.

Former Indian cricketer, Gavaskar feels he can help Kohli, especially with his weakness outside off stump. "If I had about 20 minutes with him, I would be able to tell him the things he might have to do. It might help him, I am not saying it will help him but it could, particularly with regards to that off-stump line," PTI quoted Gavaskar as saying.

"Having been an opening batter, having been troubled by that line, there are certain things that you try and do," stated Gavaskar.

Kohli has been rested for India's series against West Indies. Opening up on Kohli's form, Gavaskar further added, "It goes back to the fact that his first mistake turns out to be his last. Again, just because he is not amongst the runs, there is this anxiety to play at every delivery because that is what batters feel, they have got to score.

"You look to play at deliveries that you otherwise won't. But her has gotten out to good deliveries as well on this particular tour."

Kohli has failed to score a century since November 2019. His form has seen the former skipper face criticism from all quarters with many demanding his exclusion from India's squad for the upcoming T20 World Cup. Even legendary Kapil Dev supported Kohli's exclusion. Though Kohli has found support from many as well, including skipper Rohit Sharma along with the likes of Pakistan skipper Babar Azam and Shoaib Akhtar.

Meanwhile, Gavaskar lauded Rishabh Pant for batting responsibly during India's third ODI win which sealed the series in India's favour. Pant scored his maiden ODI century to guide India to a comfortable five-wicket win. "Rishabh Pant seems to have learned from his mistakes against South Africa. He chased balls outside off stump to slog them over the leg side then, but the way he batted with responsibility yesterday shows how well he paced his innings.

"The way he smashed a flurry of boundaries towards the end showed that he is someone who can absorb pressure and then attack. We will need to wait and see. He might have found the right template to play white ball cricket," stated the 73-year-old.