IPL 2022: What's wrong with Virat Kohli?
Virat Kohli's inconsistency in IPL 2022 hit a new low when he was undone by Marco Jansen's brilliant delivery. Faf du Plessis had just been dismissed by a cracker of a ball that nipped in and flattened the RCB skipper's off-stump.
Then there was Kohli, fresh off a golden duck against the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG). Jansen and the Sunrisers Hyderabad executed their plan to perfection when he sent one down, full and angling across. Kohli took the bait by prodding at it with hard hands and saw it flyimg to Aiden Markram at second slip.
His body language said it all. He held his arms wide the second he nicked it, and later had a face that was part grimace, part resignation, and part disgust. He walked back with his head flopped down.
There was to be no Virat Kohli special, or masterclass, or a much-awaited out-of-the-rut knock. It was the second golden duck in a row, and that meant the rest of Bangalore's batters had to roll up their sleeves.
RCB's famed No.3 has two ducks and two single-digit scores so far. Those couple of 40s now feel like a flash in the pan as RCB wade into the second half of the marquee tournament.
What now? Harsha Bhogle's words of "How do you explain this?" would be a question that Kohli would sit back and introspect as we attempt to figure out what's wrong with Kohli as the side gear up for their next game against the Rajasthan Royals on Tuesday (April 26).
What's wrong with Virat Kohli?
There are two ways of looking at this: (i) Look at his temperament and feel that he's one knock away and this was just classic Virat Kohli having a bad patch.
(ii) The man is burnt out despite the frothing rage and frustration that somehow make a feeble attempt at masking what he's going through.
Explaining the first one, he's not a player who is reliant on rhythm to get going. He's not Kevin Pietersen, who in his playing days knew he was out of sorts the minute he took guard.
Kohli's stance, by all means, shows that he's locked in and loaded, the bat swing is never pulled off at the last minute, nor is there a half-hearted shot that would make it seem he was in two minds.
But when he does push hard at the ball that darts outside the off stump, it's that itch that he can't stop scratching. He's been guilty of doing that before, and he somehow manages to do it, making his perplexed expression unsurprising to those watching.
Here's what Pakistan's former great, Wasim Akram, had to say about the batter countering swing and left-arm seamers:
"I think Kohli should bat with an open stance initially, just for the first couple of overs to negotiate the incoming delivery. With this, the inswinging delivery will not hit his pads. He can play straight with this stance. I think this is what Virat should do early on, if he feels he is struggling against the left-armers."
Not a bad piece of advice.
And then there's the intent. The fact that he attempts to attack from ball one can sometimes act as a double-edged sword — something that he and RCB will have to accept. It's the sort of approach that can be expected from Glenn Maxwell, who is now reaping the benefits of starting slow.
So, would it be prudent for him to slow things down a notch? It might be T20 cricket, but there's no hard rule that a batter must go big from the very first delivery that they face.
Take nothing away from Jansen though. He's done his homework to perfection and done what was asked of him. Anuj Rawat and Faf du Plessis were just victims of some stellar bowling.
Now for the second. Is he done? It's hard to answer this one. If we look at him from a critical viewpoint, it could be the aftermath of his captaincy, the fact that he's adjusting to life without donning the skipper's hat, and just wavered focus.
From an editorializing perspective: Just feel sorry for the man. Does he deserve a break from all that's happened over the past few months, you can't fault him if he needs one.
It won't be a stretch when whispers of "he's done", "washed" and "drop him" get louder, but for a man with stellar records, it's just sympathy at the moment.
Those runs speak for themselves, and those milestones aren't as easy as they look on paper. Playing and going toe-to-toe against the best in the world, Kohli as skipper and player had one weapon in his arsenal along with his skill: A spunky attitude that would go for the kill rather than be happy with what he got.
So for the resolute and relentless Virat Kohli to recalibrate himself, he's got enough games. The only question on people's minds: Will he be back to his usual self? Only time will tell.