Virat Kohli is utterly focused in the nets but that isn’t translating into a big performance. Known for his consistency, be it any format or tournament, Kohli is having a torrid time in the ongoing IPL 2022 where on Tuesday, he registered his first golden duck five years, extending a poor start the season.
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So what ails the former Royal Challengers Bangalore captain? While his earlier low scores were linked to the captaincy pressure and since the burden of leadership has been lifted, it was expected, he would be back to his old self. However, runs continue to desert the batting superstar.
Kevin Pietersen, England batting legend and a former IPL teammate of Kohli, who recently arrived in India to join the TV commentary panel for the tournament, has a theory on the slump.
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“Virat Kohli, he likes to be the star of the show, Pietersen said on Star Sports, “But now Faf du Plessis is the star of the show. He is the one who is running the ship. He gets the big suite in the hotel or maybe no, Virat might still get a bigger room than anyone else. However, it’s very difficult to become a soldier again. You are not the one in the middle who is making the big decisions. You are not the one who is commanding respect.”
“When you become a captain, you start to get looked at completely differently by fans, by the players, your teammates and the coaching staff. When you come back in, all of them will monitor whether you can become a good soldier again,” he added.
Pietersen thinks that adjusting to the new role is proving to be tough for Kohli but he will soon be back to his best.
“So I think for Virat, this is tough. You can see that in his performances at the moment. He is taking time to find his feet. He might take a couple more games to find his feet,” Pietersen explained.
“I watched his warm-up. He means business. No smiling, no nothing, no cuddles, no hellos… He is like ‘I am focussed, I want to get the job done’,” he added.
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