Ex-India head coach Ravi Shastri believes former captain Virat Kohli is exhausted from all the on and off-field action, and he needs to take a break in order to extend his career.
Speaking on Star Sports on Tuesday, Shastri said that the 33-year-old is mentally overcooked and needs to take time off from cricket to play longer for the country. Kohli has been going through a poor run of form for over two years, not managing to score a century in any form of cricket.
In the ongoing Indian Premier League season, Virat has been lacklustre for second-placed Royal Challengers Bangalore, scoring only 119 runs across seven innings at an average of under 20. He has only managed two scores of over 40 and was dismissed on a golden duck in the last game against Lucknow Super Giants.
“I am going straight to the main guy here. Virat Kohli is overcooked. If anyone needs a break, it’s him. Whether it’s two months or a month and a half, whether it’s after England or before England – he needs a break because he has got six-seven years of cricket left in him and you don’t want to lose that with a fried brain,”
Shastri stated.
Kohli’s drought for a century has lasted for two years and over 100 matches across formats. In the last seven months, he has stepped down from captaincy of the Indian T20 side as well as Test side, and was sacked from the ODI captain’s position. He also quit the captaincy of his the Royal Challengers.
“When I was coach at the time when this first started, the first thing I said is, ‘You have to show empathy to the guys. If you’re going to be forceful, there is a very thin line there, from a guy losing the plot as opposed to him hanging in there and giving his best. So you have to be extremely careful,”
Shastri added.
The former India cricketer also said that there might be several players in world cricket going through a similar mental state, which needs to be addressed. Ex-England cricketer Kevin Pietersen agreed with Shastri’s comments and said Kohli should spend time away from cricket and social media to rejuvenate himself.
“…the guy has had so much to deal with, from marriage to baby to media scrutiny and all on his personal life. He is the biggest star on the show. Virat Kohli needs to say, ‘Cricket boots, for six months, I will see you later.’ Turn off social media, go and get re-energised,”
the Englishman said.
While the discussion about Kohli’s mental health pops up once in a while, the Indian superstar hasn’t spoken about it or any off-field stuff recently.
Talking about the time-offs, Kohli was heavily criticised last year for taking a paternity leave. Mental health is still a taboo in India and even if Kohli is indeed mentally fatigued, we would hope he finds the support and strength to speak about it.
Kohli has a good example in his RCB teammate and Australia star Glenn Maxwell, who had spoken about his mental health struggles and had taken a break from cricket in late 2019. Recently, England all-rounder Ben Stokes had also opened up about his mental health and had opted to take a hiatus in late 2021.
