Virat Kohli says a break from the game is definitely up for consideration from his end as he looks to mentally recharge amidst a challenging phase in his career with the bat. The India great said he wouldn’t mind some space in the busy calendar to “rejuvenate” himself and come back to his best.
Undoubtedly one of the modern-day greats, Kohli has undergone an extended phase of struggling at the top-level game, with his returns dipping drastically across formats for India. He last made a hundred in international cricket in November 2019 and has gone through three successive seasons of IPL in Royal Challengers Bangalore jersey with substandard returns.
A scratchy, unconvincing 73 on May 19 against Gujarat Titans included, the batter has made his 309 runs in IPL 2022 from 14 innings while averaging 23.76 and striking at 117.93.
Watching him from outside, prominent voices have raised their concerns for Kohli’s form and skill-based issues that he is encountering. But his closest confidant and former India head coach Ravi Shastri felt the cricketer is “overcooked” and needs an immediate break from the game.
Kohli didn’t opt-out of IPL duties with RCB but paid attention to Shastri’s words, calling it a “healthy” suggestion from someone who has seen him go through the hard grind for the best part of the last decade from close quarters.
“It’s not a lot of people who mentioned it (taking a break). There is one person precisely who has mentioned it which is Ravi bhai and that’s because he has seen from close quarters over the last six-seven years the reality of the situation that I have been in,”
“The amount of cricket that I have played and the ups and downs and the toll that it takes on you to play three formats of the game plus the IPL for 10-11 years non-stop with the seven years of captaincy in between…”
said Kohli in an interview with Star Sports.
Since the start of the pandemic, Kohli has been quite vocal with regards to the need for players to look after their mental health and take timely breaks to avoid bubble fatigue and perform to their level best. He came out in support of England’s premier allrounder Ben Stokes when he temporarily walked away from the sport mid last year.
With the same suggestions following Kohli, the player said despite his commitments, he is very much open to take a break himself and indicated he will be discussing the possibility of the same with the Indian team management, including head coach Rahul Dravid, one of the first individuals to assert the perks of constant shuffling through the bubble life.
“It’s only a thing of creating a balance and finding that balance which is right for you as an individual moving forward and I’ll definitely discuss this with all the people involved – Rahul bhai, the Indian team management, everyone to chart out whatever is best for myself and for the team definitely,”
he added.
While question marks have been raised from certain corners regarding a decline against spin bowling in Kohli’s game and whether his methods to counter pace and movement from the frontfoot are too risky, the player says he hasn’t personally found no chink in his armoury, with no pattern to his dismissals.
But Kohli did mention he is identifying this phase as one of “evolution” as a player on the field, and one where he is feeling the “happiest” on the personal front. He said winning the Asia Cup and the T20 World Cup later in the year are his two biggest priorities.
