Sitting duck Virat Kohli must beware of Abrar Ahmed in India vs Pakistan amid leg spin woes

Virat Kohli has a huge problem to solve in India vs Pakistan tie in Champions Trophy and it is dealing with leg spinners

Virat Kohli has a new nightmare to be worried about. After hos outside the off stump issue in Tests, there is a new problem that haunts him in ODIs. Leg spinners. Five out of his last six dismissals in the 50-over format have come against leg spinners. If his technical issue in Tests wasn’t already a big headache, he now has another issue to solve and it is in the only other format that he is currently active in. He will hope that he can overcome the problem in the India vs Pakistan clash in Champions Trophy, where all eyes will be on him to stand up and deliver on the big occasion.

Virat Kohli’s leg spin woes a worry ahead of IND vs PAK

It all started with the ODIs against Sri Lanka in August 2024. Out of the three games that he featured in, he was twice dismissed by leg spinners Wanindu Hasaranga and Jeffery Vandersay. On all three occasions, the batting maestro was trapped for an LBW. Cut to January 2025, he was dismissed by Adil Rashid, another leg spinner, in both the IND vs ENG ODIs that he played. To make matters worse, the trend continued in the ICC Champions Trophy as well.

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Despite putting in all the hard work and honing his technique for CT 2025 in Dubai, his trouble with leg spin continued to persist. He was dismissed by Rishad Hossain, again a leg spinner, in India’s Champions Trophy 2025 opener. Now, he will be up against Pakistan’s lone specialist spinner – Abrar Ahmed – who happens to bowl leg break as well.

While Kohli’s form with the bat has never been a problem, his technique seems to be the only roadblock that stops him from amassing runs. As for Abrar, the Pakistan bowler is better off in Tests than in ODIs. However, he still poses a risk to Virat, given that he is expected to target the batter’s weakness. All eyes will be on Kohli to see how effectively he can tackle leg spin once again in IND vs PAK tie. Or perhaps, one could get to see a never-ending loop like how his outside the off stump problem became a common sight throughout the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.