"When you're not in the form of your life, it's best to get rid of those things" - South African legend advises Virat Kohli after woeful BGT 2024-25

Former South African batter AB de Villiers advised Virat Kohli not to get too involved in battles with the opposition players and the crowd when battling poor form. De Villiers' remarks came after Kohli endured a dismal tour of Australia, scoring only 190 runs at an average of under 24 in five Tests.

His struggles played a massive role in India's 1-3 series defeat as they surrendered the Border-Gavaskar Trophy for the first time since 2014-15. Kohli's dismal form in Tests extends for half a decade with the veteran batter averaging under 31 in 39 matches since 2020.

Talking about Virat Kohli's struggles on a live show through his X handle, De Villiers said as quoted by India Today:

"It takes a lot of character, a lot of hunger, lot of hours in the nets. I think the thing is to reset your mind, everytime. I think with Virat, he gets involved with the battle on the field. That's one of his biggest strengths and it can also be a weakness. During this series, we saw him have individual battles with some of the players, the crowd got under his skin. Virat loves the fight, but when you're not in the form of your life, it's best to get rid of those things."

He added:

"As a batter, it is to reset every single and realise every ball is an event and just forget about the bowler. I think sometimes Virat forgets about that because of his fighting spirit and the nature of the man wanting to be involved and show the whole of India he is there to fight for them."

Virat Kohli has scored only three Test centuries since the turn of the decade, raising questions about his place in the Indian red-ball side.

His sub-par batting has meant India have now lost six out of their last six Test outings, including a 0-3 home series whitewash against New Zealand.

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"Every single batter in the world has got some sort of a weakness" - AB de Villiers on Virat Kohli

Australia v India - Men's 5th Test Match: Day 1 - Source: Getty

AB de Villiers backed Virat Kohli to overcome the apparent outside off-stump weakness against pacers that tormented him throughout the Australian series.

Kohli was dismissed by nicking balls outside off-stump off the Aussie seamers in eight out of his nine innings.

"Of course, he can [overcoming outside off-stump weakness]. Every single batter in the world has got some sort of a weakness. For me it was the straight ball hitting my pads. Even towards the back end of my career and in the form of my life, all the experience that I needed to go out and score runs," said AB de Villiers.

He added:

"I remember a series against England. I started off well and scored runs in Durban, everything was brilliant. Then I ran into James Anderson and Stuart Broad with the new ball."

Virat Kohli entered the 2024-25 Australian series with an average of well over 50 in Tests down under but the recently concluded tour has dropped that number to under 47.