Ravi Shastri advises Virat Kohli to hit an important sweep shot for Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB)

Former India international Ravi Shastri and ex-Royal Challengers Bangalore skipper Virat Kohli had many wonderful memories during Shastri’s tenure as coach of the Indian cricket team. 

Yesterday night at the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai, RCB won their first game of the season by three wickets against KKR. RCB was led by Faf du Plessis. Kohli did not succeed in making the most of his day with the bat, scoring just 12 runs. Shastri offers some great advice on Kohli’s shot selection. The World Cup-winning all-rounder wants him to be able to play the sweep shot freely against spinners.

”In order to deal with the spinners, he was prepared to use his feet. His next move is to sweep. He needs to hit it. He could play it more, with freedom,” Shastri stated. “In the nets, he should get rid of Raghu (the throwdown specialist) and the fast bowlers – he has used them a lot for the past one-and-a-half to two years. Play the sweep with a spinner. A spinner who uses his feet and begins to play the sweep will think twice, thrice about what to bowl,” he added.

“He practices the shot in training. Because the IPL requires him to play the shot, he can practice it with some conviction. In Australia or England, you won’t get a chance to play it in the net because it’s not like you are playing it in the net. It makes no sense. Maybe he will face Nathan Lyon there, but a lot of fast bowlers will be there,” Shastri concluded.