"Just go and play naturally.." Anil Kumble advises Virat Kohli on his struggles against spinners in ODIs

Virat Kohli has recently struggled heavily against leg-spinners in ODIs.

It has been a tough few months for Virat Kohli. The 36-year-old struggled in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT), managing 190 runs in 9 innings. Throughout the series, he was repeatedly dismissed by fast bowlers on deliveries outside off stump.

He then returned in the ODIs against England to play the last two games of the series and even scored a half-century in the final match in Ahmedabad. But he was troubled constantly by Adil Rashid.

The star Indian batsman was dismissed by leg-spinner Rishad Hossain against Bangladesh in India’s first match of the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 in Dubai. Kohli has got out to spinners in his last six ODI innings, five of them to leg-spin.

Former India test captain Anil Kumble has now shared his advice on how Kohli can tackle spinners in the upcoming games.

Anil Kumble advises Virat Kohli on his struggles against spinners in ODIs

Speaking on ESPNcricinfo Match Day, Kumble highlighted that starting an innings against spin is always challenging and that Kohli plays spinners best when he focuses on rotating the strike. He also observed that Kohli is trying too hard to score runs.

Kumble said, “To start off against spin, on surfaces like that, you need a lot of confidence. He’s certainly trying too hard to manoeuvre that. He’s a good player of spin when he’s in form, when he’s wanting to just knock singles off and keep rotating the strike.“

“Now he’s trying too hard to score runs rather than just manoeuvre, and that’s been his game plan.“

The former leg-spinner stressed that Kohli needs to relax and play with freedom instead of thinking too much about the outcome.

He added, “He just needs to relax a little bit and not worry too much about the outcome of what happens on the field rather than just go out there and have the freedom to just go and play naturally, what he does really well.“

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