How Sanjay Bangar is helping Virat Kohli for Ranji return
What's the story
Star Indian batter Virat Kohli has returned to training with his former batting coach Sanjay Bangar. The move comes as Kohli prepares for his return to the Ranji Trophy, India's premier red-ball tournament, after a gap of 12 years. The training sessions are being held in Mumbai, where he is sharpening his skills for Delhi's upcoming match against Railways. Here are further details.
Coach's influence
Role in Kohli's career; training focus
Bangar served as India's batting coach during the golden years of Kohli (2014-19). Notably, Kohli often credited Bangar for his success. In a video that has gone viral on social media, Bangar is seen giving throwdowns from about 16 yards to Kohli, who seems to be concentrating on his back foot play. The session also included a portable cement slab kept at the good length for practice.
Information
A look at Kohli's golden period
Kohli hit his purple patch between 2016 and 2019. In this period, the Run Machine racked up 10,331 runs from 158 internationals at an astronomical average of 71.24 (36 tons). Kohli hammered seven Test double-centuries, the most by an Indian in the format.
Ranji return
Kohli aims to bounce back
Kohli is likely to play Delhi's last league game (Ranji Trophy) against Railways in Delhi, starting January 30. This comes after the BCCI directed all centrally-contracted cricketers to play domestic cricket. Notably, Kohli missed the last Ranji match due to a neck sprain. His recent form has been poor with only 190 runs from five Tests during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, though it included a century.
Practice focus
Kohli's off-stump woes
Kohli has been facing technical issues against balls pitched on and outside the off-stump, a problem he is trying to overcome in his training sessions with Bangar. Despite his performance woes, Kohli is still approachable to young cricketers. He was seen signing autographs for them during his practice session in Mumbai, as seen in a video doing rounds on social media.