If I had about 20 minutes with him, it might help: Sunil Gavaskar offers Virat Kohli assistance
New Delhi, Jul 19: The legendary Sunil Gavaskar feels he can help the out-of-form Virat Kohli regain touch by sorting his batting woes, especially his weakness outside off stump.
Kohli is enduring a wretched run with the bat and has failed to score a century since November 2019. He could manage just 76 runs from six innings across formats on the England soil, which included the rescheduled fifth Test, two ODIs and as many T20s.
"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," Gavaskar told 'India Today'.
"Having been an opening batter, having been troubled by that line, there are certain things that you try and do."
Kohli's lean patch has led to calls for his ouster from the T20 World Cup team, with even the legendary Kapil Dev voicing support for his exclusion.
However, many former and current cricketers, including Babar Azam, Kevin Pietersen and Shoaib Akhtar have backed him to come good in the upcoming games.
"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," Gavaskar said.
"You look to play at deliveries that you otherwise won't. But he has gotten out to good deliveries as well on this particular tour."
Kohli has been rested for the limited-overs series against West Indies which includes five T20Is and three ODIs.
Gavaskar also praised Rishabh Pant for batting responsibly in the third ODI against England.
"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 73-year-old said.
"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 (whether Pant is able to replicate this form in T20Is). He might have found the right template to play white ball cricket."
Pant smashed a maiden ODI century against England at Old Trafford in Manchester to help India seal the three-game series 2-1.
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Prime organiser of Messi event in Kolkata arrested over ‘mismanagement’ after stadium chaos
Kolkata (PTI): The police on Saturday arrested Satadru Datta, the prime organiser of the Lionel Messi football event at Salt Lake Stadium here, following widespread chaos at the venue, which prompted the Argentine World Cup-winning captain to leave the field early.
Taking suo motu cognisance of the stadium unrest, Datta was held by the Bidhannagar Police for “mismanagement” of the event from the Kolkata airport, where he had gone to see off Messi and his entourage on their way to Hyderabad.
"We are looking into whether there was any mismanagement from the organiser's side, which led to the chaos at the stadium. He has been detained, and the police have now brought the situation under control," West Bengal DGP Rajeev Kumar said at a press conference.
A senior police officer later confirmed that Dutta has been arrested. Till reports last received, the police were interrogating him and his manager inside one of the departure lounges of the airport.
The organiser has given in writing that he will refund the prices of tickets he sold to the disappointed spectators, Kumar said.
What was supposed to be a marquee football spectacle turned into widespread violence and disorder at the stadium after Messi’s brief and tightly ring-fenced appearance, his first at the venue since 2011, left large sections of the crowd frustrated, as they failed to catch a glimpse of their superstar despite having travelled from far and wide, paying hefty sums for tickets.
Police said they were also investigating how organisers allowed sale of bottled waters and beverages inside the stadium premises, which are banned items during such events.
Thousands of water bottles were used as missiles and lobbed inside the pitch by angry spectators, who also uprooted bucket seats from the gallery and used them as ammunition inside the field against the defending police and security personnel.
Spectators alleged that water bottles were being sold at a massive premium inside the stadium despite police disallowing such items from outside at the entry gates.
Police agreed there was an underlying tension in the galleries on account of Messi not showing his footballing skills on the field, which only got aggravated after a bunch of VIPs, including State Sports Minister Aroop Biswas and unidentified people, blocked the football icon’s view during the limited time he spent on the ground.
“We are on the job, and will ensure that whoever is responsible for what happened today at Salt Lake Stadium will be punished, and action will be taken against the authorities concerned,” said Jawed Shamim, ADG, Law and Order.
