Virat Kohli, arguably India's greatest ever all-format player, hasn't been in great form lately, having last scored an international century in November 2019. In the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) too, he has scored just 119 runs in 7 matches at an average of just under 20. 

The Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) on Tuesday (April 19) took on the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG). Virat was dismissed after five years for a golden duck, adding insult to injury. Kevin Pietersen, an England batting icon, while speaking on Star Sports, shared a notion for the downturn.

“Virat Kohli, he likes to be the star of the show. But now Faf du Plessis is the star of the show. He is the one who is running the ship. He gets the big suite in the hotel or maybe no, Virat might still get a bigger room than anyone else. However, it’s very difficult to become a soldier again. You are not the one in the middle who is making the big decisions. You are not the one who is commanding respect."

“When you become a captain, you start to get looked at completely differently by fans, by the players, your teammates, and the coaching staff. When you come back in, all of them will monitor whether you can become a good soldier again," he added.

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Pietersen thinks that adjusting to the new role is proving to be tough for Kohli but he will soon be back to his best.

“So I think for Virat, this is tough. You can see that in his performances at the moment. He is taking time to find his feet. He might take a couple more games to find his feet," Kevin explained.

“I watched his warm-up. He means business. No smiling, no nothing, no cuddles, no hellos… He is like ‘I am focussed, I want to get the job done,".

RCB defeated LSG by 18 runs. The Faf du Plessis-led side will next face the Sunrisers Hyderabad at the Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai on Saturday (April 23).

(NEWS18 INPUTS)