Virat Kohli's recent words suggest that he is as close as he's ever been to his old self

Amid the hysteria surrounding the ongoing Asia Cup being a watershed moment in Virat Kohli’s career, his recent 'heart to heart' conversation with the broadcasters came as a calming influence.

The captaincy-and-opening-combination musical chairs in the Indian T20I side has seen the team come into the tournament without a settled first eleven. But what has been a constant factor is the batting unit’s all-guns-blazing approach, irrespective of the wickets column. Being the team man that he is, Virat Kohli also tried to buy into that philosophy. Albeit, without much to write home about.

In the four T20Is he has played this year, the 33-year-old has accumulated just 81 runs at a strike-rate of 128.57. For the record, that is significantly lower than his career’s 137.66. Not only did he look flustered and seem to rush into impetuous strokeplay, the star batter also had lesser occupance of the crease. His IPL numbers were more concerning – 341 runs at an average of 22.73 and strike-rate of 115.99.

Virat Kohli managed to scale peaks by spending time at base camps, in assessing conditions and situations. He is at his best when he sees himself in, for he can always up the scoring rate. That is why his recent comments came like a breath of fresh air.

“In big tournaments, you need more awareness and cricketing smarts than wanting to play a certain brand of cricket. Because that can implode on a particular day as well. And we have the talent and the ability in the team to understand the situation and play the situation accordingly. That’s been my personal experience in big tournaments, especially World Cups, Asia Cups, and so on. You need to look at the situation and play accordingly, and the people who can hold their nerve the best eventually come out on top when it’s a crunch situation,” Kohli told Star Sports.

It seemed – well, we can at least hope – that the downtime has given the No. 3 batter perspective into what can be the best for him. At the end of the day, to each his own. And if Virat Kohli feels that he wants to take a different path to the destination, then so be it. After all, it will benefit the team and also let 1.4 billion Indians sleep in peace.

Ex-India selector Sarandeep Singh, too, wants Kohli to play a game best known to him and what he’s best known for. He recalled how former batter Virender Sehwag would stick to his guns at any cost.

“He should play his natural game. Whatever your natural game is, it stays with you throughout, and I am a strong believer in it. My favourite player has been Virender Sehwag. He used to say, ‘I will always back my own game, no matter what.’ If you don’t back your own game and try to follow some other player, then it creates confusion. Virat Kohli has scored 70 hundreds. This is also true that, he hasn’t scored enough runs for two years, which shouldn’t be the case for a player of his level. Whenever he comes in, we are expecting a century and he is actually looking to do that,” Singh said in an exclusive interview with Sportskeeda.

India’s aggressive approach has been delivering one series win after another. However, echoing Kohli’s sentiments, the former India off-spinner explained why it is imperative for one of Kohli or skipper Rohit Sharma to bat deep in high-octane clashes.

“I am telling you, he will be back in form in this Asia Cup. And his return to form will increase India’s chances of winning the World Cup. In this team, there are just two players – Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli – who can handle pressure. All the others tend to go big from ball one. So one of Rohit or Virat needs to play a minimum of 15-16 overs. Only then can India reach a total of 170 to 180. If these two fall early, then the attacking players are also forced to change their game,” Singh, who served as the North Zone selector from 2016 to 2020, asserted.

In T20I history, Virat Kohli boasts the highest strike-rate in death overs (16 to 20) among Indian batters. He hits at 189.95, followed by Rohit (189.27) and Dinesh Karthik (183.59) – stats till July 30. Even the math is favourable for Kohli to walk the talk.

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“A player matures only after the age of 30” – Sarandeep Singh backs Virat Kohli's return

Virat Kohli's last century came in the pink-ball Test against Bangladesh in November 2019

Does a lean patch affect the mental aspect of the game? Or, does a mental block result in a lean patch? It’s as ambiguous as the ‘chicken or egg’ story. At such a stage, it’s best to leave the discussion.

That’s exactly what Virat Kohli did by taking a hiatus and not touching his magic wand for 30 straight days. While many debated Kohli not touring Zimbabwe, Sarandeep Singh backed the move. He further highlighted that there isn’t any technical deficiency in his batting and, thus, the break has more chances of coming to his aid.

“That was a team call. They felt Virat Kohli needed rest and hence didn’t pick him. And even Virat must have felt the same. And breaks are very important for sportspersons. Rahul Dravid and the entire team management also want Virat Kohli to return to form as soon as possible. It’s not like he’s getting out for ducks. Although he’s making about 15-20 runs, he’s going out there and stroking few boundaries. He is looking confident, he will never look pressurised,” Singh told Sportskeeda.

It’s going to be almost three years since the former India captain last scored big. A run of low scores, this prolonged, is unprecedented for any cricketer, even more so by Kohli’s gold standards. Some people might even get away by predicting the end of the road for the great man. But Sarandeep Singh opined that all cricketers peak after turning 30. He even pointed at Rohit’s growth as a Test regular as a case in point.

“I have seen him play as a kid, we have played Ranji Trophy together, saw him as a selector – he is a very strong-headed boy. But I don’t know why I am this sure, but I have a strong feeling that he will hit a purple patch very soon. Some might be saying that his time is up. But he is just 33.

"If we look at Rohit Sharma, it took him about 14 years to cement his place in the Test setup. He has been in and out of the side so many times. Everyone knew how talented he is and hence backed him, but it’s only now that he has started scoring runs. A player matures and becomes a match-winner only after the age of 30. Someone in their early 20s cannot be relied upon, except for Sachin Tendulkar,” he explained.

But that lingering thought always remains: what if the drought continues through Dubai and Sharjah? Will that jeopardise Virat Kohli’s chances of getting the boarding pass to Australia?

“If he doesn’t score anything, then it will be the same case for everyone – for Rohit Sharma as well as KL Rahul. It’s not like you will be picked just because you are a senior. But we don’t want to think about that. Why would we consider something which hasn’t even happened?” Singh concluded.

Back after more than a month to play his 100th T20I, Virat Kohli is looking calm. His words suggest that he is thinking straight. If he is back to his old self on the mental side of things, it won’t be long before it translates into big performances on the field.

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