Break for Virat would do him a world of good!

Mohammed Rumman Khan | NT

Abatter or bowler may have a lean patch and is allowed to fail but for how long? There’s only one buzz in cricketing circles now--on the poor form of Virat Kohli. It’s been over two years since we saw him raise his bat after another scintillating century.

The man, who hammered 70 tons, is now struggling to prove his dominance and seems unable to take fiery bowlers head-on and punish them. Is it something to do with a mental block or have technical issues affected his batting prowess? Let’s deep-dive.

Rohit Sharma in a recent interview said the media should leave Virat alone and then “things will fall in place.” Really? He plays for India where 1.3 billion people are cricket-crazy to say the least. And shouldn’t someone representing the country be accountable? The media will continue to ask questions if anyone is found lagging because that’s our job.

Virat has been scoring 50s but is unable to convert them into hundreds. The ‘chase master’ is finding it difficult to take the battle to the bowlers and inevitably falls prey to them when they bowl in the corridor of uncertainty. That ‘6th or 7th stump’ is where he’s searching for the ball. And it’s no surprise that most of his dismissals in the past two years have been behind the stumps, either getting caught behind or by edging to the slip. He has always been a dominant batter but when a great like him goes through a rough patch, one has to take some time in the middle to settle down. He has set the bar so high that not scoring a century is enough to invite the worst of criticism!

Even in 2014-15, he went through a lean patch but he soon got rid of the blues and how! He was unstoppable from 2016 to 2019 and was a nightmare to bowlers during his purple patch.

As captain, he’s India’s finest leader with a winning percentage of 58.82 in Tests; 70.43 in ODIs and 64 in T20Is.

There are multiple factors for his poor show since the start of 2020, when the world went into a virusinduced slowdown. The end of the Shastri-Kohli partnership was one reason and differences between him and BCCI President Sourav Ganguly didn’t help his batting either.

From Virat’s perspective, there have been many ups & downs along the journey but there has never been a lack of effort or belief. The modern-day great can certainly regain his prime form again like many athletes have come out with all guns blazing. It’s just a matter of one great innings and he would be touted again as one of the legends of the game.

At times, one needs to step back in order to bounce back. After a much-needed break, Virat could be back, refreshed and hungrier to contribute to India’s success across all formats. The nation is waiting, Virat, the run-machine!