Asia Cup 2022: “I was trying to fake my intensity,” Kohli admits he was feeling mentally down before the break

Virat Kohli will return to action in the 2022 edition of Asia Cup.

There was a time when Virat Kohli used to hog headlines every other day for his record-breaking exploits with the bat. However, the veteran batter has lately become the talk of the town for his extended lean patch.

The owner of 70 international centuries, Kohli hasn’t hit a ton since November 2019. His failure during the England tour last month saw him receiving flak from the fans and former cricketers alike.

With his place in the T20I side under scrutiny, Kohli was given a break from the recent tour of West Indies and Zimbabwe. However, the selection committee and the team management have shown faith in him, picking him for the Asia Cup 2022, slated to get underway on August 27.

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Ahead of India’s tournament opener against arch-rivals Pakistan on August 28, Virat Kohli has admitted that he was feeling mentally down, which led to him taking a break from cricket following the 2022 England tour.

The former India skipper also revealed that during the break, he didn’t touch his bat for the first time in a decade.

"For the first time in 10 years, I didn't touch my bat for a month. I came to realisation that I was trying to fake my intensity a bit recently. I was convincing myself that no, you had the intensity. But your body was telling you to stop. The mind was telling me to take a break and step back," Kohli said in a video shared by Star Sports.

"I'm looked at as a guy who is mentally very strong and I am. But everyone has a limit and you need to recognize that limit, otherwise things can get unhealthy for you. This period taught me a lot of things that I wasn't allowing to come to surface. When they eventually came up, I embraced it.

"I'm not shy to admit that I was feeling mentally down. This is a very normal thing to feel, but we don't speak because we are hesitant. We don't want to be looked at as mentally weak. Trust me, faking to be strong is far worse than admitting to be weak," he added.

India’s Asia Cup 2022 opener against Pakistan will be Virat Kohli’s 100th T20I match. The right-hander has so far amassed 3308 runs in 99 T20Is at an average of 50.12 and a strike rate of 137.66, including 30 half-centuries.