Edged and Taken – Virat Kohli’s Off-Stump Struggle
“Edged and taken” has now become a phrase closely linked with Virat Kohli, something that never seemed imaginable when he was at his peak. The aura of India’s ace batter appears to shrink with every dismissal where he falls to the tricky fourth-stump line.
This wasn’t always a problem for Kohli. Any cricketer’s career will have challenges and rough patches, but the surprising thing in Kohli’s case is – how did it reach a point where he looks helpless and resigned against a delivery that every batter trains to deal with?
In his early days, Kohli had no issues in Test cricket. His first 24 matches were smooth: 1,721 runs at an impressive 46.51 average, comfortably owning the prestigious No.4 spot in the lineup. But then came the 2014 England tour, and Kohli faced a new nightmare.
James Anderson and the Dukes ball exploited a crack in his game. By the end of that series, his average fell to 39.57, and the bug in his game – the off-stump line of uncertainty – had taken root.
Why Is This a Big Issue Now?
Coaches train bowlers from an early age to target the top of off-stump and slightly outside it. These deliveries are not new. But for some reason, Kohli struggles more than other batters, and this has now become part of his identity. Fans, critics, and opponents focus on this flaw so much that it’s impossible for Kohli to ignore it.
When Kohli comes to bat, bowlers don’t need a strategy. They just bowl outside off-stump, knowing an edge is likely. The analysis doesn’t stop after he gets out – everyone talks about the edge, his technique, and mindset. Kohli seems trapped in quicksand: the harder he tries to escape, the deeper he sinks.
The ‘Pink Elephant’ – Kohli Overthinking
Former cricketer Dinesh Karthik recently spoke about Kohli’s problem and used the example of a “pink elephant”. It’s a classic example of overthinking – when you try not to think about something, it ends up dominating your mind even more.
This is similar to the Backwards Law, a concept by philosopher Alan Watts. It means the more you chase something, the more it runs away. In Kohli’s case, the more he tries to solve his off-stump issues, the worse it seems to get.
It’s like Kohli cannot escape the problem – it’s everywhere. Before he bats, during the match, and after he gets out, everyone talks about it.
Mind vs. Body – Instinct Taking Over
For batters, deliveries outside off-stump look too tempting to ignore, especially when you have played cover drives your entire career. It’s hard for Kohli to stop playing a shot that was once his strength.
Over time, this shot has become part of his muscle memory. Even if he tells himself to leave the ball, his instinct eventually takes over, and he goes for the drive. The issue is not technical but mental. Kohli may have overthought the problem to the point where it feels bigger than it actually is.
Ego and the Stubborn Cover Drive
Has ego made Kohli’s situation worse? Fans wonder why he doesn’t just stop playing the cover drive for some time. Batters like Sachin Tendulkar showed this was possible when he famously avoided cover drives during his iconic innings in Sydney.
But Kohli hasn’t taken such a drastic step. He plays the cover drive often, even when his form and timing may not allow him to dominate like before.
Maybe it’s stubbornness or belief in his abilities, but Kohli hasn’t shown much change apart from small tweaks in his stance or foot movement. Fans and experts keep suggesting he “leave more deliveries,” but Kohli seems to resist this idea.
Is it because leaving deliveries feels like running away from the problem? Or does he believe that the issue will go away on its own with time?
What Kohli Needs to Do
Kohli’s bat is still speaking, but now it’s the outside edge, not the middle, that does the talking. He doesn’t need to leave every ball but must be more selective.
The less he focuses on the “off-stump problem”, the freer he will become. Cricketer KL Rahul showed in Brisbane that mental battles are harder to win than physical ones. For Kohli, the fight is not with the pitch or bowlers but with his own mind.
To come out of this phase, Kohli needs to:
- Be disciplined and leave balls outside off-stump regularly.
- Focus on dominating other areas of the field to regain confidence.
- Let go of the obsession with his flaw – the more he tries to solve it, the bigger it becomes.
Kohli has fought and conquered challenges before, and fans will hope this too is just another chapter in his legendary career.
