“They can’t be bigger than the game itself” - Yuvraj Singh’s father has blunt take on Virat Kohli’s poor form in BGT 2024-25

Former India cricketer Yograj Singh believes that Virat Kohli needed guidance to overcome his woes outside the off-stump, and his overall form. The ace Indian batter had a series to forget in Australia, scoring 190 runs in five matches at an average of 23.75.

Kohli was dismissed similarly throughout the entire series, with Scott Boland being responsible for his wicket on four occasions.

Former India cricketer Sunil Gavaskar questioned the impact of the coaching staff following the 1-3 series defeat and enquired why such glaring issues are yet to be addressed.

Yograj Singh also felt that Kohli needed guidance behind the scenes, and felt that just because he has attained legendary status does not make him immune to mistakes.

"The role of a coach becomes a significant question when you are playing for India. When you're an exceptional player representing India, you might not necessarily need coaching in the traditional sense. What you truly need is someone for man management. Sometimes, a player's mind gets blocked; they might not be scoring runs, or they keep getting out. No matter how great a player is, they can't be bigger than the game itself," Yograj Singh told the Times of India

Virat Kohli's red-ball future hangs in the balance after the runs have completely dried out. Before the Border-Gavaskar series, he endured a particularly poor home season, with meager scores against Bangladesh and New Zealand.

"Even they want someone to come and tell them what's going wrong" - Yograj Singh on Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma's poor run of form

Unfortunately for Team India, their other stalwart Rohit Sharma also did not fare any better. The Indian skipper accumulated just 31 runs in the series, and had to drop himself from the playing XI in the fifth Test in Sydney.

Yograj felt that when senior players are out of form, one cannot wait for them to resolve it on their own, and even they need guidance at times.

"Such players need someone to guide them, to say, 'Let's go to the nets and work on this.' For example, Virat Kohli got out many times playing his favourite shot - the right-hand push. That shot works on Indian pitches, in England, and elsewhere. But on certain pitches where the ball bounces and carries more, someone should have told him, 'Virat, don't play this shot.' Just play straight or leave this ball," Yograj said

Former India player Hemang Badani had remarked midway through the Border-Gavaskar series that the coaching staff should not feel intimidated to address issues with players like Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli behind the scenes. Yograj made a similar point, suggesting that technical issues should be conveyed to them so that they can be rectified.

"This illustrates the difference between coaching and management. Identifying and pointing out a player's technical fault is coaching. Someone needs to recognise and convey these technical issues to the players. But who will tell Rohit Sharma or Virat Kohli? Even they want someone to come and tell them what's going wrong," he added.

Team India's next red-ball endeavor comes in the form of a tour of England in mid-2025 after they missed out on the World Test Championship (WTC) Final.