What appears to eyes may not be true always. This pretty much sums up Virat Kohli's struggle in IPL 2022. 


COMMERCIAL BREAK
SCROLL TO CONTINUE READING

The RCB batter has struggled to get going in the 15th edition of the tournament. And whenever he does not score, the focus shifts to his technique, his shot making etc. 


However, the dismissal vs Kane Williamson's Sunrisers Hyderabad is a testament to the fact that Kohli is not always getting out due to a bad shot or a wrong batting technique. Or that there is need to change something in his batting technique. 



Yes, he has definitely been done in by some bowlers. Especially, those back-to-back dismissals. Two golden ducks in consecutive games. And in both instances, the RCB and Indian No. 3 was either trying to play away from his body (vs LSG) or trying to push at it (vs SRH).


On one occasion, he misread the delivery. The one by Moeen Ali which kissed his off stump comes to mind instantly when we say this. 


It is fair to say that Kohli has a mental block. The one that every player goes through but the advices and suggestions coming his way are worse than his form at the moment. 



That to take rest. That to quit IPL 2022 midway through a campaign. That to drop him from the T20 World Cup squad. 


First thing, first. Virat Kohli is the first and last person to decide what works for him and what does not. 


He has taken breaks whenever he had liked. And if he feels that he should have taken a break by now, he would have. A player is a better judge of his or her skills and mind space. So we should let Kohli be. 


Secondly, to not take Kohli to World Cup, that is to take place in Australia later this year, would be an overexaggeration. 


Australia does not have your Wankhedes, MCAs, Brabournes or DY Patils, where the conditions are not alien to Indian cricketers. Australia will have fast-paced tracks, long boundaries. You need Virat over there because he has been there and played some outstanding knocks across formats. You need someone like him to be in the playing XI, so to even think of dropping him based on his current IPL form is acting on a recency bias. 


Every day, we see even the best of cricket experts take a new name on who should play for India at the T20 World Cup 2022. That is what recency bias does to you, which is take into account the recent performances and forget the conditions, pitches, past record, experience, combinations etc. 



Virat Kohli has to have a seat in that plane to Australia, not because he is undroppable due to his stature, but because you need him because of his experience.


There's one issue though 


Because you need Kohli in Australia hit against the pace and bounce, you need him to take as less time to get going as possible. Something which he did brilliant in the 2016 edition of the tournament. These days Kohli gets stuck in the powerplay. And because the runs are not coming in the powerplay at a good strike rate, he spends too many important balls and then in the middle overs, struggles vs the spinners. 


Many believed that Kohli was back to form with that fifty vs Gujarat Titans, his only so far in IPL 2022. However, that knock was played at a strike rate of 109.


His fans were happy that their favourite batter was back among runs, but the fact is that it was a scratchy innings from a struggling batter fighting it out in the middle to desperately come back among runs. In a nutshell, it was an ordinary T20 knock which may have played a role in RCB losing that game to GT as Bangalore could only post 170/6 batting first. 


Kohli stayed there for long because he had luck. Had he gotten out early, fingers would have again been raised on his technique, shot selection etc. But the major worry is him getting stuck in the middle, unable to rotate strike, which used to be a big feature of his batting. 



And for that reason alone, Kohli needs to continue playing. He should be picked for the South Africa series and he should play every game till the World Cup to find his mojo back. That is when he is in the right mind space. 


Rahul Dravid during the Test series had mentioned how Kohli is not to far from a big knock. Dravid is a man of few words and when he says something, there is reason behind it. Dravid added that Kohli is in great mind space, and continues to do the basics right, he is training hard, hitting the gym. And doing the process right. This process will eventually take him out of bad form.


Kohli might look a dejected human at the end of his short stays, so many of them these days, but that does not mean he is near to quitting. He carries his emotions with him, is very expressive and does not believe in hiding his failures. Runs are not the most important thing with a batter, the lack or abundance of them. What is most important is that he doing the same drill he has been doing for the last decade or so. Till that drill is on, Kohli is on.