 "Virat Kohli endured a forgettable outing for India in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy Test series against Australia. AP")
Virat Kohli had an Australia tour to forget recently, and according to former Australia cricketer Brad Hogg, that could be because of “more drama” off the field than on it for Kohli. Kohli had scored an unbeaten century in the first Test against Australia in Perth, but lost the plot in the remaining Tests. Kohli aggregated just 190 runs from 10 innings in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, which India went onto lose 1-3.
The aftermath of India’s series loss was such that the BCCI introduced new rules , including that of restrictions of families travelling with the players. The families of players can now travel with them for only two weeks during a tour that lasts for 45 days or more, as per BCCI’s new policy. If it’s less than 45 days, that period reduces to one week.
‘He has other commitments off the field…’: Hogg on Kohli
“He has got a family now. He has other commitments off the field that he did not have when he was really dominating all three formats around the globe. So, it is not just about the cricket, it is what happening off the field as well,” Hogg said on his YouTube channel.
“I think it is more the drama off-field than on-field for Virat. I just think he has just got too much on his plate that has probably caused him to not perform as well at this moment,” he added.
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Hogg feels that BCCI’s new rules on families will only put more stress on the former India captain and said that because of the hectic schedule, it is important for families to travel with cricketers for as long as possible.
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More Shorts“With the new rules that the BCCI have brought in in regards to families, that’s even gonna put more stress on Virat for his wife and family as well because you gotta have that balance. I think players should be able to have their families on tour as much as possible, especially with the amount of cricket and the amount of travel that India has at the present moment,” he said.
After missing out on the World Test Championship final , the next major assignment for India is the 2025 Champions Trophy, where they are in Group A along with Pakistan, New Zealand and Bangladesh. India, who will play all their matches in Dubai, will begin their campaign against Bangladesh on 20 February.