 "Virat Kohli scored 190 runs in the five-Test series in Australia, 100 of which were scored in the second innings of the first Test in Perth. AP")
South African batting legend AB de Villiers has urged Virat Kohli to “reset” and “avoid on-field battles” for now after an extended lean patch, including in the recently-concluded Test series in Australia. Barring a century in the second innings of the first Test in Perth, Kohli endured a disappointing run with the bat throughout the tour of Australia, repeatedly getting dismissed by nicking the ball in the channel outside the off stump .
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Kohli also courted controversy during the course of the series, including in the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne where he clashed shoulders with debutant Sam Konstas and in the series finale in Sydney where he was flashing his empty pockets at the crowd in a reference to the infamous Sandpapergate controversy from 2018.
“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,” ‘Mr 360’ said in video posted on his official X account.
“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 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,” added the former South Africa captain.
De Villiers, who shared the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) dressing room with Kohli for a decade in the Indian Premier League (IPL), further said that while his on-field aggression is one of his biggest strengths, it “can also be a weakness”.
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“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.
Despite going 1-0 up in the five-match series with a 295-run victory at Perth’s Optus Stadium, India ended up losing the series 3-1 following defeats in the pink-ball Test in Adelaide as well as in Melbourne in Sydney to surrender the Border-Gavaskar Trophy after a decade.
The series defeat also meant India would not feature in the final of the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) for the first time since the tournament’s inception in 2019, with Australia finishing ahead of India and confirming their place for the summit clash against South Africa at Lord’s in June.