Former India head coach Ravi Shastri has backed Virat Kohli to bounce back in the upcoming Asia Cup 2022. The batting maverick has been going through a lean patch with the bat this year as he failed to manufacture big runs in IPL 2022 and England tour. Kohli has also missed several series this year to manage the workload. Despite his underwhelming form, the selectors rested him for South Africa T20Is, West Indies and Zimbabwe tours.
The 33-year-old is all set to return to competitive cricket with Asia Cup after a short break. His last international century came way back in 2019 and since then he has failed to convert the fifties into big scores.
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Team India is going through a transitional phase and embracing a new fearless approach in T20I cricket. Kohli tried to embrace the same on the England tour but failed to score big.
Shastri, who formed a great captain-coach partnership with Kohli during their tenures, feels that big players went through such a phase and said that the former captain had time to reflect on the things which didn’t work in their favour.
“I haven’t spoken to him but it’s not rocket science. Big players wake up in due course. They need a break; mental fatigue can creep in to the best in the world. There is a not a single player in world cricket who has not gone through a bad patch and I am sure this downtime is not just for the body, it’s time to reflect. He would have reflected as to what things he could have done better," Shastri said in a press conference organised by Star Sports, the official broadcaster of Asia Cup 2022.
Shastri shares good camaraderie with Kohli and said that he got the time during the break to make some plans for the future and the upcoming Asia Cup will be the perfect opportunity for him to execute them.
“What he didn’t do right? What things he did absolutely right and should keep focussing on that. What he allowed to come into his mindset that was just not required or relevant? All these things come into play. You get an opportunity to then decide, what is the future course of action. Whether it is shot selection, or it is how you plan, when to shift gears, should I give himself more time. And now it is time for him to execute those plans," he added.
The former India head coach backed Kohli to bounce back and said he will enter the multi-nation tournament with a calmer mind and a half-century in the opening match will silence his critics.
“He will come back with a calmer mind, because the heat is off. You have been away. Now, what you do will get the tone. He gets a fifty in the very first game, mouths will be shut for the rest of the tournament. What’s happened in the past is history. Remember, public memory is very short. So it works both ways. His opportunity here is to get that calmness and then take it one day at a time," he pointed out.
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