AB de Villiers advises Virat Kohli to ‘reset’ his mindset
AB de Villiers and Virat Kohli, fie photo
Kohli, along with Rohit Sharma, struggled for form during the recently concluded Test series against Australia. The 1-3 series loss also dashed India's hopes of reaching the World Test Championship final.
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Kohli managed just 190 runs across nine innings in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, frequently falling victim to edges caught by the slip fielders or the wicketkeeper.
"I think the thing is to reset your mind every time. Virat loves the fight, but when you're not in the form of your life, it's best to get rid of those things. As a batter, it is to reset every single and understand every ball is an event and just forget about the bowler," de Villiers said in a video he posted on 'X'.
"I think sometimes Virat forgets about that because of his fighting spirit and the nature of the man wanting to be involved and show the whole of India he is there to fight for them," the South African batting legend added.
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"The skill, experience and greatness of the guy (Kohli) are not an issue. It’s sometimes about the refocus after every single ball. Maybe sometimes he gets involved too much." Australia beat India by six wickets in the fifth and final Test at the SCG to regain the Border Gavaskar Trophy.
Following the hundred in the series opener, Kohli's troubles outside the off-stump compounded as he was caught in the slip cordon eight times over the course of five Tests.
The tour that got over on Sunday was probably Kohli's last in Australia.
"I think with Virat, he gets involved with the battle on the field. That's one of his biggest strengths and it can also be a weakness. During this series, we saw him have individual battles with some of the players, the crowd got under his skin," De Villiers said.
