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'He can take a break but I don't think Kohli needs one': Ex-India player voices opinion contrary to popular belief
Despite Virat Kohli's poor outing in the first India vs West Indies ODI at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, former cricketer maintains that the 33-year-old does not need a break.
Star batter Virat Kohli hasn't been his usual self with the bat over the last couple of months. Despite scoring multiple half-centuries, the former Indian skipper hasn't been able to convert his starts into big scores and has often fallen prey to very unusual dismissals. While numerous experts have suggested a break for Kohli, former cricket Saba Karim thinks otherwise.
Kohli played a very uncharacteristic innings in the first ODI against West Indies at the Narendra Modi Stadium on Sunday. Needing only 177 to win, Kohli walked out to bat at 84/1 in the 14th over.
He faced four deliveries and scored 8 runs before he was caught in fine leg off Alzarri Joseph's ball. He edged the first ball through the slip cordon for 4. He played an upper-cut on his second ball to find another boundary. And finally, after leaving alone the third ball, he top-edged a bouncer from Joseph and holed out to Kemar Roach at fine leg.
Karim, while speaking on the KhelNeeti YouTube channel, said: "Only Virat Kohli knows what is best for him. He knows what his state of mind is or is he able to plan like before. If he feels like it, he can take a break but I don't think Kohli needs a break. Usually, you can see the clarity in Kohli's batting right away, in the way which he approaches. It seemed like he was in a lot of haste, couldn't see his usual planning."
He added: "It has been a while since I've seen him get out to a short ball. Alzarri Joseph clearly planned it, all he bowled was short deliveries. The clarity and the focus were missing from Kohli."
The hosts eventually won the first game by six wickets to take a 1-0 lead in the three-match series. The next game takes place on February 9.
