Published 19:16 IST, January 8th 2025
'That Makes Batting Harder': Ricky Ponting Reviews The Downturn In Virat Kohli’s Career In Test Cricket
Australia veteran Ricky Ponting has offered his take on Virat Kohli's recent slump in Test Cricket, and he has offered some key advice to help him overcome it.
- SportFit
- 3 min read
Virat Kohli has come under intense scrutiny after his performance in the recently concluded Border-Gavaskar Trophy series. Except for the Perth Test, the Indian superstar has failed to impress throughout the series, with his weaknesses being brutally exposed by the Aussie cricketers in the series. Virat's future in Test cricket remains in dark clouds, as he has failed to perform for quite a while. A former Australia cricketer has suggested Kohli to take a step back from action.
Ricky Ponting Reviews Virat Kohli's Lackluster Performance
Former Australia skipper Ricky Ponting believes it is time for Virat Kohli to take a step back and have some temporary time off from cricket after his constant struggles outside the off-stump during the five-match Test series at the Border Gavaskar Trophy series. Kohli took a month off from cricket in 2022, which worked out well for him as he came back in good form. The Aussie veteran suggests the same for Kohli.
"...The challenge is, and I can see it with Virat now, you can see how much he wants it. He's trying so hard that actually makes batting harder. The harder you try sometimes with batting, the less success you're going to have. I started thinking more about not getting out rather than scoring runs and that might sound strange but that's what it was. I was trying to be so perfect set the right example play exactly the way my team needed me all the time but when I was playing my best I didn't think about any of that. I just walked out and thought about scoring runs. I can just see a little bit of that with Virat now.
"He had a mental break (in the past) where he stepped away for a while and then came back and find the love for the game again. So right now it just seems like that real love of the game for him is not there because he's making it too hard to enjoy. So if he wants to continue playing Test match cricket, he might just need to have a little spell for a while, find the love for the game again," Ricky Ponting said during an appearance on the ICC Review.
India Veteran Analyzes Rohit & Virat Kohli's Performance In Tests, Orders Strict Mandate
Ravi Shastri, who was also a part of the appearance alongside Ponting, expressed his thoughts on the struggling form of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma. The former India coach believes that they need to go back and play domestic tournaments.
"If there's a gap for them, they should go back and play some domestic cricket and see how it is. Because when you play Test match cricket for that length of time, it's important to play domestic cricket for two reasons," Ravi Shastri said.
[With PTI Inputs]
Updated 19:16 IST, January 8th 2025