'Does he say the same about Rohit Sharma?' - Matthew Hayden on Ravi Shastri suggesting Virat Kohli to take a break

Virat Kohli has been struggling immensely in the ongoing edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL). He has so far bagged three golden ducks and has only one half-century to show in 12 matches. He has so far scored 216 runs at a mediocre average of 19.63 and a strike-rate of 111.34. Looking at his form, former India head coach Ravi Shastri suggested him to take a break from the sport while also suggesting to pull out from the ongoing IPL season.

Shastri reckons Virat is mentally overcooked and desperately needs some time away from the game. Talking about his golden ducks, his third one in that aspect came in the previous game against Sunrisers Hyderabad and the debate around the 33-year-old taking a break yet again popped up. This is when commentator Harsha Bhogle recalled Shastri’s statement suggesting Kohli to take a break. His co-commentator, Matthew Hayden, then questioned if Shastri is saying the same about Rohit Sharma too.

The Mumbai Indians skipper is also going through a similar rut as Virat Kohli scoring only 200 runs in 11 matches this season with the highest score of 43. His average of 18.18 and a strike-rate of 125 is left not only MI but the Indian fans worried as well. Hayden pointed out the same while saying the India’s two high-profile cricketers have been playing cricket for a long time and they must be struggling due to the same reason.

“Does he say the same about Rohit Sharma? I mean these guys are playing cricket all the time, of course these tournaments, they come around so quickly, you get yourself into a mental space and Kohli has been brilliant at it for so many years, so animated, so passionate. To come off that though just for a moment and you are under pressure,” Hayden said.

Harsha Bhogle clarifies why he brought up Shastri’s statement on Kohli

Soon after Hayden gave his opinion, Harsha Bhogle was quick to clarify why he brought up Ravi Shastri’s statement on Virat Kohli as the two worked together as India captain and head coach for last 3-4 years and that they know each other very well.

“The only reason I brought that up, Ravi and Virat have known each other so well over the last 3-4 years, have run a lot of campaigns together, been very good at Test cricket. He knows the inner mind,” Bhogle said.