Shane Watson stated that there is something different about Virat Kohli's energy in the field
Virat Kohli of the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB )is having a bad run with the bat, having scored just 119 runs in his last eight outings in the ongoing IPL 2022. These include two golden ducks the latest of which came against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) on April 23, 2022.
Kohli's last international century came against Bangladesh in 2019, and he has yet to reach the three-figure mark since then. Former India head coach Ravi Shastri recently urged that Virat Kohli take a break since he appears "overcooked."
However, Shane Watson, the assistant coach of the Delhi Capitals (DC), has stated that there is something different about the India batter and believes that Kohli will return to form soon.
"In the last game, where Delhi Capitals played against them, there was something tiny bit different with Virat. Because I have seen him before, I have played against him and with him for a couple of years at RCB. It looked like his energy was a little bit different, a little bit off. The thing with Virat is that he is always so amped every time he goes out to bat, every time he is in the field. It is superhuman what he has been able to do so far and sustained for such a long period of time. He's a freak of nature with the intensities he's able to continue to keep up in his game," Watson said on The Grade Cricketer's Podcast.
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"And the other night, it was just the other night I felt his battery was just a tiny bit off. In the end, he is human, even though everything he has done is just about he's superhuman, especially with the intensity he has been able to take to every single game but at some stage and it wouldn't surprise me if in and around the Indian stuff or him stepping down as captain, that's going to suck a lot of energy out of him because I know how much it meant to him," he further stated.
Kohli had stepped down as India's T20I captain, and then Rohit Sharma was named ODI captain after head selector Chetan Sharma said in a news conference that the selectors wanted one captain for both white-ball formats.
Kohli gave up the captaincy in the longest format of the game after losing the Test series to South Africa.
"Whatever went on there would have been a big call for him to step down as captain for India. So, at some stage it is going to take a toll in a little way. The energy is a tiny bit off but if he gets into a battle on the field, he'll find that energy it straight away because that's the type of batsman he is and type of person he is. He's always up for a battle. He will find that switch, he'll find it," Watson said.
(With NDTV inputs)