Not long ago, Virat Kohli was struggling for runs across all formats of the game. The star Indian batter endured an extended lean patch as he failed to score an international century for almost three years.
Amid the lean patch, Kohli decided to take a break from the game after the England tour last year. On his comeback in the Asia Cup 2022, the right-hander instantly made an impact as he finished as the second highest run-scorer. Since then, he hasn’t looked back.
Virat was the top run-getter in the 2022 edition of T20 World Cup in Australia, scoring 296 runs from six innings, including a match-winning knock of 82 not out in 53 balls against arch-rivals Pakistan at MCG.
After regaining his old mojo, Kohli is now hitting centuries for fun in international cricket. He has slammed five international hundreds (two in Tests and three in ODIs) this year so far besides a couple of tons in the IPL 2023 season for RCB.
Virat Kohli’s most recent century was against Pakistan in the Asia Cup 2023. He smashed 122* off 94 balls in the Super 4 match in Colombo to script India’s crushing 228-run victory. It was his 47th ODI ton he is now only three hundreds away from surpassing the legendary Sachin Tendulkar’s tally of 49 centuries in the 50-over format.
Speaking to TimesofIndia.com, veteran leg-spinner Amit Mishra weighed in on Kohli’s stunning exploits lately, opining that relinquishing captaincy was a blessing for the latter.
"He is playing freely. Since he has quit his captaincy and Rohit became the captain, Virat is playing freely. He is now focussing and concentrating on his batting. With this, there is a lot of improvement in his batting,” Mishra stated.
"When you are a captain, you have to focus on both aspects - your team and your batting. Now Virat is no longer a captain and his sole focus is on his batting. Since he left the captaincy, his batting has improved. He is the same Virat we saw a few years back [before the lean phase]. He is giving the same glimpse," he added.
After the T20 World Cup 2021, Virat Kohli stepped down as India’s T20I skipper but the selectors also sacked him from ODI captaincy citing that they don’t want different individuals leading the white-ball teams. By January 2022, Kohli gave up the Test captaincy as well following the series loss in South Africa.
"Virat is enjoying his batting, scoring runs, always smiling, having fun on the field, and speaking to other team members. He is in a very good frame of mind currently," Mishra stated.
The Men in Blue are slated to open their World Cup campaign against Australia on October 8 in Chennai.
"Ahead of a big tournament like the World Cup, big players should be given rest so that they can recharge themselves and get themselves ready, especially mentally. They can sit, think, and plan for a big tournament like the World Cup. They need to be relaxed, focused, and mentally charged up for the World Cup," Mishra said.
"This break was very important for them because they will be getting a lot of mental stress in the World Cup. So, this break was important for them. Virat and Rohit have been rested so that they can be mentally and physically ready for the World Cup. The World Cup is very important for them," he further remarked.
