Virat Kohli’s form will perhaps attract more attention than India’s performance in the forthcoming Asia Cup. The former India captain will be returning after a five-week break when India meet Pakistan in their opening fixture on Sunday. Former coach Ravi Shastri thinks Kohli will “wake up in due course” and the chatter around his form will stop if he manages to crack a half-century in the first match of the Asia Cup.
“I haven’t spoken to him but it’s not rocket science. Big players wake up in due course. They need a break; mental fatigue can creep into the best in the world. There is not a single player in world cricket who has not gone through a bad patch and I am sure this downtime is not just for the body, it’s time to reflect,” Shastri said during an interaction organised by Star Sports, the official broadcaster.
“He would have reflected as to what things he could have done better. You get an opportunity to then decide what is the best course of action. Whether it is shot selection, or it is how you plan, when to shift gears, or should he give himself more time... And now it is time for him to execute those plans,” Shastri remarked. “He will come back with a calmer mind, because the heat is off. You have been away. Now, what you do will set the tone. He gets a fifty in the very first game, mouths will be shut for the rest of the tournament,” Shastri said.
Having seen him from close quarters during his nearly five-year stint as head coach, Shastri feels Kohli has the character to bounce back from the recent slump. The former captain has taken regular breaks in between series, having played only 4 T20Is out of India’s 21 so far in the World Cup year.
“There is no Indian cricketer who is fitter than Kohli. I say that from experience. He’s a machine and if he manages to get his mind right to approach games like these... for him one innings can make a massive difference. He has got the fitness and physical strength, and performance will get the mental strength back. “The hunger and passion remain undiminished. He would have learnt from that patch that he has gone through,” Shastri remarked.
Aggression works
Shastri supported Rohit Sharma’s tactics of an attacking game plan at the top of the order during the Powerplay overs. “Rohit should stick to this strategy. When I was the coach we discussed that we were a bit timid at the top and needed to take more chances. That is because we have a fairly long batting line-up.
“You might lose one or two games with this ploy, but once you start winning, you will gain confidence. You need to stick to this at the Asia Cup since you have Hardik Pandya and Rishabh Pant in the team. There’s enough batting depth to bring them back on track even if there’s a failure at the top,” he explained.
Horses for courses
To a query from The Telegraph, Shastri said the bowling attack has to be different in the Asia Cup and the World Cup in Australia. “The combination for Asia Cup and the World Cup has to be different since the conditions will vary. The UAE will be hot and you can’t have too many fast bowlers playing... You will have that extra spinner in the team,” he said.
Pandya’s presence will also make a difference to the team. “He is one of the most important cogs in the wheel as far as India is concerned,” Shastri said.
“You take him out of the squad and the balance goes away. That’s how important he is. You don’t know whether to play an extra batsman or an extra bowler. We missed him really badly last year in the (T20) World Cup when he couldn’t bowl.”
