‘Kohli Must Know Where He Should Stand…’: Ex-India Star points out Virat, Pujara’s ‘lazy’ efforts behind WTC final loss

Mohammad Kaif

In the recently ended World Test Championship (WTC) final at The Oval, Australia outplayed India in all areas as Rohit Sharma and company suffered a 209-run defeat. Since then, the team has come in for harsh criticism from both analysts and fans, with the emphasis still on India’s poor batting and bowling.

Mohammad Kaif reacts on Virat and Pujara

Former Indian cricketer Mohammad Kaif, who is still well-remembered for his deft defending, pointed out another area where the squad has to improve: slip fielding.

During Australia’s second innings, when an edge from Alex Carey’s bat flew between Virat Kohli and Cheteshwar Pujara, India missed a simple opportunity at slips. While Carey was batting for 41 runs at the time of the incident, neither Kohli nor Pujara attempted to take a catch despite having the ball within their reach. While on-air at the moment, Sunil Gavaskar wasn’t too pleased with either player and criticised Kohli in particular, claiming that it was his catch.

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Players being lazy on the field

“This is being lazy. In these moments, the fielder probably thinks there won’t be catches coming to slips, and there might be a declaration on the cards. But it was a vital stage of the game when India couldn’t afford lapses.”

He also spoke about Pujara wearing shin pads under the trousers while fielding, claiming it puts a fielder into disadvantage.

“Shin pads make your movement slow, and you can’t bend properly. I don’t believe it doesn’t affect you,” Kaif added.

Slip fielding in England and Australia

Kaif also mentioned that a slip fielder is always into play if a match is being played in English or Australian condition, where you expect bounce and pace from the surface. He cited another example from Australian first innings when Steve Smith had nicked the ball but it had fallen just short of Kohli at slips.

Kavya Bhatt