Despite struggling for runs, and a big knock, for a while, Virat Kohli may just be “bluffing” himself that he’s not tired, said former Australia captain Ricky Ponting when asked his views about the Indian batter’s dip in form over recent times.
Virat Kohli’s Struggle With Poor Form
Kohli, who hasn’t notched up a century in any format for more than 30 months now, is coming off a largely disappointing IPL 2022 campaign. The 33-year-old former RCB skipper managed 341 runs in 16 matches at an average of 22 and a lowly strike rate of 115; Kohli registered three golden ducks and just a couple of fifties.
It was only until the last league game – when he hit 73 off 54 balls against Gujarat – that Kohli looked to be returning to his best, however, the optimism faded away in the two playoff matches.
Ricky Ponting Gave An Interesting Opinion
There have been many suggestions that Kohli is physically and mentally burned out after playing relentless cricket for over a decade. Ricky Ponting, who has seen it all, asserted that even Kohli may not have realized that he’s “tired” and might have been telling himself that he isn’t fatigued.
“One thing I do know from experience is that quite often you bluff yourself as a player that you’re not actually tired, that you’re not physically or mentally tired. You always find a way to get yourself up for training, you always find a way to get yourself up for game. It’s not until you actually stop and have a couple of days do you realise how tired and fatigued you are,” Ponting said in a recent episode of The ICC Review..
“So that might be exactly where Virat Kohli is at now, but I’m pretty sure he won’t stay down for too long.”
Ponting didn’t really comment much on whether he believes Kohli should have a break, saying that the batsman himself would know whether his struggles are underlined by technical or mental aspects.
What the former Aussie captain is confident about is for Kohli to bounce back soon.
“It (poor form) is going to happen to everyone at some stage. Virat’s probably had a 10 or 12-year run where hasn’t had many down times.
“But there was a lot of talk and conjecture around the IPL about how tired and burnt out he might be. That’s for him to work out and assess and find ways to improve, whether it’s a technical thing or a mental thing.
“I’m sure, being the absolute professional that he is, that he’ll work it out and work it out pretty quickly,” Ponting said.
