Here’s how Tendulkar’s advice helped Kohli rise after 2014

India’s all-format captain Virat Kohli has scored more than 21,000 international runs. While he has been in a perpetual purple patch since 2012, there was a severe blip in his form in 2014. In the Test series against England in England, the batsman managed only 134 runs in 10 innings. Kohli sought advice from many after that dismal tour and it was Sachin Tendulkar’s guidance that helped him get back on the track.

In his recent Instagram chat with England’s legendary batsman Kevin Pietersen, Kohli had called the 2014 tour his lowest career point. His highest score in that Test series was 39. James Anderson, in particular, proved to be his nemesis as the wily pace bowler trapped with his magical outswingers. The series also exploited Kohli’s weakness against the ball pitching outside the off-stump which has been exploited by many in later years.

Kohli explained how Tendulkar helped him solve this nagging problem to Mayank Agarwal on BCCI TV.

“My hip position was an issue during that England tour. If the right hip opens or closes too much you, you are in trouble. [You have to] keep that hip position nice and side-on and balanced so that you can play through both off side and leg side with equal control is very very important,” Kohli revealed.

“I came back from England and spoke to Sachin paaji and had a few sessions with him in Mumbai. I told him that I am working on my hip position. He made me realise the importance of big stride, a forward press against fast bowlers. The moment I started doing that with my hip alignment, things started falling in place nicely and then the Australia tour happened,” Kohli added.

Kohli also credited Ravi Shastri, who was named India’s team director after the England Tests and then head coach Duncan Fletcher for the transformation. While Shastri asked Kohli to stand outside the batting crease, Fletcher suggested the tweak to make his stance wider.

From baking for his special someone in the lockdown to revealing the best smoothie makers in the team, @imVkohli answers it all on #OpenNetsWithMayank.

Part 2 of the show coming up soon on https://t.co/Z3MPyesSeZ. Stay tuned ??@mayankcricket pic.twitter.com/IuvdfOST0Y

— BCCI (@BCCI) July 26, 2020

In the Australian tour that followed, Kohli stormed back in form with 692 runs in four Tests. He smashed four centuries in the series, two of which came in the same Test at Adelaide. The champion batsman was successful when he returned to England in 2018. He added 593 runs in 10 innings this time with two centuries. Most notably, he did not get out to Anderson even once.