Kohli Considering Break: Virat Kohli, one of the star cricket players in India, has stated that he is now residing at the happiest moment of his life; yet, Kohli is considering a break some time off to rejuvenate mentally and physically.
In January, India was upset by South Africa in a series, and Kohli made the decision to step aside as skipper of India’s Test team after the loss. In the time leading up to it, he had previously made his decision to step down from the role of the captaincy of India’s white-ball side.
Before Thursday’s match against Gujarat Titans, the 33-year-old batsman had a 21.45 batting average in the present Indian Premier League, which was his lowest number in the league since 2008. This was his lowest score in the competition since 2008.
Since his performance versus Bangladesh in Kolkata in November 2019, in which he struck 136 runs, Kohli has not reached the century mark in any of the formats in which he has participated since he stepped down as captain of Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) earlier.
Ravi Shastri has seen me from close quarters over the last 6-7 years: Kohli
Kohli agreed that despite his 49.95 batting average in the longest format, it could be time for him to take a break.
“It’s not a lot of people who mentioned it [taking a break]. There is one person precisely who has mentioned it which is Ravi Shastri and that’s because he has seen from close quarters over the last six, seven years the reality of the situation that I have been in. The amount of cricket that I have played and the ups and downs and the toll that it takes on you to play three formats of the game plus the IPL for 10, 11 years non-stop with the seven years of captaincy in between. It is definitely a thing that one needs to consider because you don’t want to do something which you are not a part of 100 percent and I have always believed in that in my life”, said Kohli in an Interaction.
“So to take a break and when to take a break is obviously something that I need to take a call on, but it is only a healthy decision for anyone to take some time off and just rejuvenate yourself mentally and physically. Not so much physically because physical fitness you keep up with through the course of playing cricket all the time, but it is a mental kind of reset that you need, and you want to be excited about what you are doing. You don’t want to feel like you have been forcing yourself into any situation”, added Kohli.
“It’s only a thing of creating a balance and finding that balance which is right for you as an individual moving forward and I’ll definitely discuss this with all the people involved – [India coach] Rahul [Dravid], the Indian team management, everyone to chart out whatever is best for myself and for the team definitely”, the 33-year-old added further.
I’m actually in the happiest phase of my life: Kohli Considering Break
Virat Kohli was not only the first heavyweight player to take a break from playing for different reasons. Assuming that Ben Stokes, the new skipper of the England Test team, took a break from the sport to focus on his mental and physical health a year ago.
Furthermore, Kohli claims that he is still having a great time with his sport even if he is working hard to get Bangalore into the playoffs in the Indian Premier League (IPL).
“Right now, there is nothing that you can point out saying there is a problem here. I know where my game stands and you cannot come this far in your international career without having the ability to counter the situations and counter conditions and counter different kinds of bowling. So this phase for me is the easier phase to process but I don’t want to put this behind me. I want to learn from it and understand what are the core values that I have as a sportsperson and as a human being”.
“My experiences are sacred to me – whatever I have experienced in this phase or in the past as well. So I am experiencing now that I value myself and I care for my own well-being way more than I would have in the past. And actually, contrary to a lot of belief or a lot of perceptions as I mentioned on the outside, I’m actually in the happiest phase of my life”, Virat Kohli concluded.
