Virat Kohli has become the center of attention, but this time, it is because of his poor form in the ongoing T20 World Cup. The batting maestro has scored just 29 runs off 4 matches, including three single-digit scores, which has put him under the scanners. The star batter looked sluggish and failed to get going in the powerplay in the group stage. Meanwhile, he also had a forgettable match in Super 8 where he scored run-a-ball 24.
The team management made a bold decision to play Kohli as an opener in the tournament after his incredible show at the top in IPL 2024, where he won Orange Cap after amassing 741 runs. However, things did not work out well for Kohli in the T20 WC, where he looked in a hurry to break the shackles and ended up getting out.
However, Kohli has now received backing from former cricketer Navjot Singh Sidhu who hailed the Indian star's strong mentality.
“If a powerful person doesn’t showcase his power, then that person does get hurt, and should get hurt,” said Navjot Singh Sidhu about the dip in Kohli’s form on Star Sports.
“I will learn only after I fall,” he added.
“Mujhe lagta hai Virat Kohli mentally itne strong hain ke woh abhyaas se apni galtiyon pe haavi hona chaahte hain (I feel Kohli is mentally so strong that he wants to overpower his mistakes through training). He wants to overcome those (mistakes),” he said.
{{/usCountry}}“Mujhe lagta hai Virat Kohli mentally itne strong hain ke woh abhyaas se apni galtiyon pe haavi hona chaahte hain (I feel Kohli is mentally so strong that he wants to overpower his mistakes through training). He wants to overcome those (mistakes),” he said.
{{/usCountry}}The 35-year-old displayed a sign of brilliance with a six off Naveen-ul-Haq's delivery in the Afghanistan clash, which many likened to Kohli's iconic six to Haris Rauf, that lit up the MCG in the 2022 edition of T20 WC.
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Meanwhile, India head coach Vikram Rathour also talked about Kohli's lean patch ahead of Bangladesh clash
“I’m not happy. I would love it if he gets going and scores more runs,” Rathour said when asked about the team's unbeaten run in the event without Kohli’s contribution.
“But yeah, it is good when you are challenged at times. You know, the guys who are not getting too much of batting in India sometimes, they are the ones who put up scores today and our middle-order came to play. So, it was good to see,” he said.