Team India has produced a magnificent performance in the tour of West Indies so far. While the side clinched a 3-0 ODI series victory over the Windies under the captaincy of Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma returned in the leadership role as the side is currently leading the five-match T20I series 3-1. The T20Is saw a host of first-teamers return to the side but players like Virat Kohli and Jasprit Bumrah were given an additional rest.
Kohli has been going through a rough patch with the bat over the past few months. In the last month’s tour to England, Kohli had failed to cross the 20-run mark across six innings in all formats, raising concerns over his prolonged struggles. Former Pakistan captain Mohammad Hafeez, however, has said that Kohli had taken too much of “mental pressure” and needed a break to get back to his best. Earlier, Hafeez, on the same show, had said that Hasan Ali should have been given a break long ago because he was undergoing serious mental pressure.
“Virat Kohli is one of the best players of the past 10 years. I think he is also facing the same problem.. he needed a break because he had too much mental pressure. Their decision to rest Virat for this series was the best decision for him,” said Hafeez on Dawn.
Further talking about the former India captain, Hafeez said that Kohli had lost his “impact” in the past 2-3 years and that his half-century knock against Pakistan in the 2021 T20 World Cup was also “impactless.”
“I think Virat Kohli is an impact player. In the past 2-3 years, we saw that the impact wasn’t there. Even when he scored the half-century against Pakistan in the T20 World Cup last year, that was, to me, impactless. Until you can’t bring an impact, there’s no point of you playing,” said Hafeez.
“Every player requires a break. The Indian board made a good decision. This break will help him get back to becoming an impact player. He had lost his impact.”
Kohli is likely to make a return to the Indian team in the Asia Cup tournament, which starts on August 27.
