Pull out of the IPL : Former India coach advises Virat Kohli

Pull out of the IPL : Former India coach advises Virat Kohli

Ravi Shastri and Virat Kohli


Virat Kohli is experiencing his worst run drought in the IPL. For the first time in the history of his IPL career he has gotten out in consecutive ducks. This clearly sums up the lean patch former India and RCB skipper is going through. Ex-Indian coach Ravi Shastri had some words to say about Kohli’s miserable form. Shastri stated that Kohli is in need of a definite break to clear his mind and it’ll surely help him get back to his very best.

Jatin Sapru on his YouTube channel was having a chat with the former Indian opening batsman and this is what Ravi Shastri had to say about Kohli‘s lean patch, “I think a break is his ideal for him because he has played non-stop cricket and he has captained the side across all formats. It will be wise of him to take a break. You know, sometimes you have to draw the balance. This year he is already into the tournament, tomorrow if push comes to shove and you want to prolong your international career and make a mark there for 6-7 years, pull out of the IPL for all you care.”

Shastri further stated, “if that is the case, you have played for 14-15 years. Not only Virat, but I’ll also tell that to any other player. If you want to play and do well for India, you have to draw the line where you want to take the break and the ideal weight would be off-season when India is not playing, and the only time India does not play is the IPL. Sometimes, you need to do that or tell the franchise I will only play the half. Pay me half, as simple as that. Those tough calls need to come if you want to reach the zenith of your profession as an international player.”

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So far in the IPL 2022, Kohli has been dismissed for two consecutive ducks against Sunrisers Hyderabad and Lucknow supergiants and has bagged only 128 runs in the nine matches he has played. In the last match against Rajasthan Royals, Kohli tried his luck as an opener but ended up getting dismissed for a meagre score of 9 runs.

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Ravi Shastri’s advice to Virat Kohli:

Virat Kohli
Virat Kohli

Previously Shastri had stated that Virat still has 6-7 years of cricket at the top level left. He advises Virat to “literally start from the scratch.”

“Virat is still going and he has the best 5-6 years ahead of him. He would have realized what he has gone through in these last few months. He knows he has to go back to the drawing board, how he thinks, how he approaches it, and he has to literally start from scratch. There have been many players in the past who have gone through this. You mention the first ball out, to be honest, from the outside I would not be worried. As a player, if I have gotten out the first ball, I have hardly been in. It is what you get in and throw it away, that is more disappointing. When he gets in, it is up to him to make it count,” continued Shastri.

To the surprise of many, in 2019 against Bangladesh the Eden Gardens witnessed Kohli’s last international century. Who knew the ace batter would have to wait for so many days for his next ton.

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