Virat Kohli must be wondering 'I used to dominate, but now get out whenever ball touches bat': RP Singh

Former India bowler RP Singh has made an interesting observation about Virat Kohli’s current form. He reckoned that Kohli is taking longer to recover from his downturn since he is playing more T20 matches, where the chances of facing the deliveries are limited.

Kohli has been going through a rough patch in his career, but there seemed to be some improvement in his form towards the end of IPL 2022 when he managed to score some big runs. Before coming into the IPL this season, his form in the game saw a major decline as he struggled to score runs.

“His time is bad. The way he is getting out, it is strange the manner in which he is getting out. We’ve never seen Virat this way. This is a very big bad patch and with Virat, he has taken a long to hit a bad form, so coming out of it is going to take equally long. In ODIs and Tests, you can consume balls and slowly get back to form. In the T20s, you don’t have that liberty,” Singh told India TV.

Kohli is a vital member of the team and even though there have not been any big knocks from his side, his presence on the field has helped the Indian side a lot. He gave up on India captaincy across all formats to do away with the added pressure, but even that did not work as his form has not improved.

“If you have to come to form, you can start by scoring 60 off 50-55 balls. You can’t expect to score 100 off 55 balls. You have to spend time and take singles, and doubles. Coming back to form isn’t easy because he has been dominating for years. Virat must be wondering himself that ‘I used to dominate once but now get out whenever ball touches the bat’. He has taken the right method but the format is wrong,” added RP Singh.

Virat Kohli will be next seen during the England tour in July

Kohli has been given a short break alongside other senior members like Rohit Sharma and Jasprit Bumrah. Rohit, the Indian skipper, was also not impressive at the IPL this year as his performance took a downward trend and five-time champions Mumbai Indians had their worst-ever IPL outing, ending at the bottom of the points table.

Kohli, Rohit and Bumrah will not be seen in the forthcoming South Africa home series but will be returning for the England tour. India will travel to the UK for a Test match, which was rescheduled after being postponed last year due to the Covid-19 outbreak, followed by three ODIs and as many T20Is.