Indian cricketer Virat Kohli is going through an extended lean patch in his career across all formats of the game. He has been struggling to be a consistent performer for India in the last couple of years. His last International century came against Bangladesh at home in 2019. Former India cricketer Aakash Chopra has pointed out that Virat Kohli’s form is a concerning situation ahead of the 2022 T20 World Cup.
In a column for the Espncricinfo, Aakash Chopra expressed that Virat Kohli is no longer the cricketer that he was a few years ago. He added that there is no doubt about the veteran batter’s class, but one cannot deny that he hasn’t been at his best in the last few years. Aakash wrote,
“There’s no doubt in anyone’s mind about Virat Kohli’s class and his skills, and even if he doesn’t score another run in international cricket from here on, he will still be regarded as one of the greatest to have played the game. A man who did superhuman things and mastered all three formats like almost no others.”
“Still, there’s also no hiding from the fact that the bat that worked like a magic wand isn’t obeying his commands anymore. There are more misses than hits. The aura of invincibility has faded. His presence doesn’t instill the same fear in bowlers’ minds as it used to earlier,” he added.
Virat Kohli has played four T20Is matches, scoring 81 runs at an average of 20.25 this year for India. His stats are similar in other formats for the country in 2022, as he battles with poor form.
Nowadays, poor form is followed by breaks from the game: Aakash Chopra
Virat Kohli had a dismal outing for India on the tour of England earlier this year. Amid his poor form, the Indian selectors rested him for the West Indies and the Zimbabwe tours. The decision to rest Kohli received a lot of backlash from former cricketers and fans. Some former cricketers expressed that a player should play as much as possible, when out of form.
Sharing his thoughts on selectors resting Virat Kohli, Aakash Chopra expressed that nowadays players have a different way of dealing with form issues. He stated,
“For the longest time, the only way to get back into form for a top player was to play as much cricket as possible. Even if it meant playing at a slightly lower level. Everyone went through that drill till about a decade ago. But nowadays, poor form is followed by breaks from the game. I’m not an expert and won’t pretend to be one. But we really don’t know whether that’s the best approach towards regaining form and/or confidence. Times have changed and ways of dealing with issues like this might have changed too.”
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