The extended dry spell did take its toll on Virat Kohli’s mental health, as the former India captain revealed to not have touched the bat during the month-long hiatus preceding the Asia Cup. Kohli has not scored a single international hundred for over three years, but his poor form has affected him, as he confessed that he was faking intensity at times in order to demonstrate his mental strength.
I am not ashamed to say that I was feeling mentally depressed, the former India captain admitted in an episode of Virat: Heart to Heart on Star Sports. Kohli took a sabbatical after the trip, skipping two white-ball series in the West Indies and Zimbabwe.I didn’t touch my bat for a month for the first time in ten years. I suddenly realised that I was attempting to fake my intensity, Kohli stated.I was trying to convince myself that no, you have the intensity. Your body, however, was urging you to stop. My mind was urging me to take a breather and take a step back. Mental health difficulties are a reality, and Kohli, like Ben Stokes in his docu-series, has spoken about the importance of not burying one’s emotions.This is a pretty natural feeling, but we don’t say anything because we are afraid. We don’t want to be perceived as mentally ill. Believe me, pretending to be powerful is far worse than admitting to being weak. Kohli’s most recent international century came in the 2019 pink ball Test against Bangladesh at Eden Gardens. The best score in his past five matches, which included two ODIs, two T20Is, and a Test, was 20 in India’s rescheduled fifth Test defeat to England.Kohli, who has stepped down as captain of Royal Challengers Bangalore, too had a dismal IPL-15 season, amassing 341 runs from 16 matches at an average of 22.73.
Let’s hope that our favorite batsman is back in form in today’s India vs Pakistan match to be held in Dubai at 7:30 pm. Stay tuned!
