Virat Kohli Grinds Hard In Mumbai Ahead Of Anticipated Ranji Trophy Comeback, Trains Under Former India Coach

Virat Kohli is going through one of the toughest phases of his career. The former India skipper had a tough time with the bat in his hands in Australia and couldn't even score 200 runs across all the five Test matches that he played 'Down Under'. What's been more baffling is the fact that the former India captain looked far from his best against spin in the home series against New Zealand and against pace in Australia, in the recently culminated Border-Gavaskar Trophy series.

Virat Kohli has been criticized time and again for his reluctancy to play domestic cricket. Both Virat Kohli and Rahul Sharma pulled out of the Duleep Trophy last year that was played prior to the India vs Bangladesh two-match Test series. But after India's debacle in the recently culminated Border-Gavaskar Trophy series, the BCCI has reportedly made it a mandatory criteria for all the international players to participate in domestic cricket.

Kohli Trains Hard With Sanjay Bangar In Mumbai

Sanjay Bangar was a ringside witness to Virat Kohli's peak as an international cricketer between 2014 to 2019 and it was hardly surprising to find the former India batting coach being summoned by the star for a special net session ahead of his Ranji Trophy comeback after more than 12 years.

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Following the BCCI's diktat to all centrally contracted cricketers to be available for domestic cricket, Kohli, who has been struggling for form, will be playing in Delhi's last league game against Railways at the Kotla from January 30. Kohli's national team colleagues like skipper Rohit Sharma, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Rishabh Pant and Ravindra Jadeja all fulfilled their 'SOP duty' by playing the just- concluded round of Ranji Trophy.

Du Plessis Backs Kohli

Virat Kohli will be “super motivated” to put a struggling phase behind him and the premier India batter is capable of returning to his run-making ways, said former South African captain Faf du Plessis. Kohli had a torrid time in Australia during the recent Border-Gavaskar Trophy, amassing a mere 190 runs at an average of 23.75 across five Tests despite starting off with an unbeaten hundred in the first Test at Perth.

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Du Plessis backed Kohli, his one-time teammate at Royal Challengers Bangalore, to come back stronger from the struggles, and said retirement is a “very personal” choice.

(With PTI Inputs)