"This is also a problem" - Aakash Chopra on Virat Kohli's dismissal in IND vs ENG 2025 3rd ODI

Former India player Aakash Chopra has expressed concern about Virat Kohli's mode of dismissal in the third ODI against England. Similar to the second match, the ace Indian batter was once again caught behind off Adil Rashid's bowling.

Kohli scored 52 runs off 55 deliveries as India set England a 357-run target in the final ODI in Ahmedabad on Wednesday, February 12. The Men in Blue then bundled the visitors out for 214 to register a resounding 142-run win and complete a 3-0 series victory.

In a video shared on his YouTube channel 'Aakash Chopra,' the former India opener praised Kohli for scoring a half-century but also expressed disappointment with his mode of dismissal.

"He (Kohli) scored a half-century. He played well. He was slightly lucky at the start as he was getting beaten or the edges were falling short when he was chasing balls outside the off-stump. Then he played a few good shots. Jos Buttler also applied his brain. He brought (Joe) Root in front of Kohli, and Kohli thrashed him," he said (10:30).

"However, he once again fell prey to Adil Rashid. Adil Rashid has dismissed him many times, and even when he got out, he was caught behind. This is also a problem. He takes his front foot out very straight and remains very far from the ball," Chopra added.

Aakash Chopra opined that Virat Kohli was potentially wary of getting hit on the pads and falling LBW, especially against a flipper. However, he reckoned that such an approach isn't required against Adil Rashid as the leg-spinner bowls extremely slow and the flipper is clearly visible from his hand.

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"The first thing that comes to mind is whether he is back in form" - Aakash Chopra on Virat Kohli's half-century in IND vs ENG 2025 3rd ODI

Virat Kohli struck seven fours and a six during his 52-run knock. [P/C: Getty]

In the same video, Aakash Chopra wondered whether Virat Kohli's half-century in the third ODI against England can be considered a return to form.

"With Virat Kohli scoring a fifty, the first thing that comes to mind is whether he is back in form. Have all things become fine? Has the world started looking beautiful because of Virat Kohli's return to form? Rohit Sharma scored a century and we praised him wholeheartedly, but we also said that you don't come in form from out of form with one knock," he said.

The cricketer-turned-commentator opined that it might be premature to call it a return to form.

"You start feeling you are in form when you play five to seven good knocks, with one or two failures in between. If you play just one good knock, the confidence goes up, but it comes down again when you get out in two innings. It flickers a lot. Is he back in form? It would be slightly wrong to say that so soon," Chopra observed.

Aakash Chopra noted that it was widely believed that Virat Kohli was back to his best when he scored a century in India's second innings of the first Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) 2024-25. He opined that the modern batting great lost confidence again once he got out cheaply in the next few innings.