Ravi Shastri, Kevin Pietersen feel Virat Kohli needs a break

Former India head coach Ravi Shastri and former England Captain have similar views on Virat’s form

Ravi Shastri shared his thoughts on Virat Kohli current form, For sure this year IPL is not going well for the former captain of RCB as he is able to score only 119 runs at an average of 19.83 with the highest score of 48.

He has not scored an international century for nearly two-and-a-half years now and that struggle continues in IPL too, in his last IPL match against Lucknow Super Giants, he was dismissed for a golden duck and got run out twice in previous games.

Things are not going in his way as earlier he has announced that he will no longer be RCB’s captain and does not lead the Indian Team in any format now still form is missing

“I am going straight to the main guy here. Virat Kohli is overcooked. If anyone needs a break, it’s him. Whether it’s 2 months or a month-and-a-half, whether it’s after England or before England,” Shastri said on Star Sports after RCB beat LSG by 18 runs in an IPL 2022 match

“He needs a break because he has got 6-7 years of cricket left in him and you don’t want to lose that with a fried brain. He is not the only one. There might be 1 or 2 in world cricket going through the same. You need to address the problem upfront,” Shastri said.

“When I was coach at the time when this first started, the first thing I said is ‘you have to show empathy to the guys’. If you’re going to be forceful, there is a very thin line there, from a guy losing the plot as opposed to him hanging in there and giving his best. So you have to be extremely careful,” Shastri added.

Former England captain Kevin Pietersen said Kohli should take time away from the game as well as social media to rejuvenate himself.

“…the guy has had so much to deal with, from marriage to baby to media scrutiny and all on his personal life. He is the biggest star on the show,” he said.

“Virat Kohli needs to say ‘cricket boots, for six months, I will see you later’. Turn off social media, go and get re-energised.

“When the stadiums are full again, you guarantee him a spot in that side for the next 12, 24 or 36 months. Tell him ‘you’re our guy, we know you’ll deliver for us’.” Pietersen said Kohli “is going to find it very hard to continue delivering now as his brain is completely fried”.