Yuvraj Singh, a former India all-rounder, believes that Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) captain Virat Kohli needs to get back to being a free-flowing personality in order to reclaim his mojo. Virat Kohli, who stepped down as captain of the Royal Challengers Bangalore following the IPL 2021, has been in nightmare mode in the IPL 2022.
Kohli’s work ethic, according to the former India all-rounder, would help him recover from his poor form. While Kohli may be dissatisfied with his present form, Yuvraj believes that every player goes through a similar phase. Kohli has scored just 128 runs at an average of 16 in nine matches, his poorest performance in an IPL season since the 2008 edition.
Kohli’s current run of form is part of an international century-less stretch that began in November 2019, when he hit a match-winning 136 against Bangladesh in the famous Pink-Ball Test at Eden Gardens in Kolkata.
“Obviously, he is also not happy, and people aren’t too, because we have seen him setting bigger benchmarks, scoring hundreds after hundreds. But this happens to the best players,” said Yuvraj.
“He has proved himself to be the best of this era and believes in a strong work ethic and that has brought the best out of him over the years,” he added.
Former India head coach Ravi Shastri, on the other hand, has emphasised that Kohli needs to take a break to refresh his mind.
“I think a break is ideal for him because he has played non-stop cricket and he has captained the side across all formats. It will be wise of him to take a break. You know, sometimes you have to draw the balance. This year he is already into the tournament (IPL 2022), tomorrow if push comes to shove and you want to prolong your international career and make a mark there for 6-7 years, pull out of the IPL, for all you care,” said Shastri.
“If that is the case, you have played for 14-15 years. Not only Virat, I’ll tell that to any other player. If you want to play and do well for India, you have to draw the line where you want to take that break and the ideal break would be off-season where India is not playing and the only time India does not play is the IPL. Sometimes, you need to do that or tell the franchise I’ll only play the half. Pay me half, as simple as that. Those tough calls need to come if you want to reach the zenith of your profession as an international player,” he added.
