XtraTime Web Desk – The 1983 World Cup winning captain, Kapil Dev on the 18th Hindustan Times Leadership summit said that, Virat Kohli at the age 32 can be the most dangerous batsman in the world if he makes some necessary adjustment with his age.
Kapil Dev clears out his point as he explained that one challenge Virat needs to deal with is his eyesight. Kapil Dev believes that the eyesight gets weaker with age and Virat needs to take care of it.
Kapil Dev said, “If you look at Kohli and Smith, they’re in the same boat, because they’ve reached an age Smith where the eyesight starts dropping. They both like to play across the legs and both can be candidates for an LBW. From 28 to 34, you are the best but you have to adjust your eyesight”.
He also gave examples of former great players like Virender Sehwag and Rahul Dravid stating that their career at the end took a dip because of a weaker eyesight.
“What happened to Virender Sehwag, Rahul Dravid? What happened to so many great cricketers? Once the eyes get weak, if they don’t correct themselves technically, they will get out a lot more frequently. Where [Kane] Williamson and [Joe] Root look compact is that they don’t play so much across”, Kapil said in the summit.
Kapil Dev also cleared that the coming period will be extremely crucial for the Indian captain. He adviced Kohli not to play in the leg-side often as he believes that it weakens one’s eyesight. He asked to play Virat more in the ‘V’ to become the most dangerous player in the world.
“If Kohli can handle himself for six months by playing the ball straight ‘I don’t have to flick the ball from the off-side,’ which is his favourite shot too. Then he will look more dangerous than any other player. His eyesight is not always going to be of an 18-year-old. So he will have to adjust himself”, Kapil Dev said in the summit.