"Mental Issue Behind It": Former Pakistan Captain On Virat Kohli's Extended Lean Patch

With Rohit Sharma unavailable, the Indian cricket team will rely a lot on seniors like Virat Kohli against England in the Edgbaston Test, starting on Friday. However, Kohli comes into the match on the back of an extended lean patch, which has seen him without any three-figure score since November, 2019. Former Pakistan captain went on to analyse what has gone wrong with Kohli in the last two and half years. In the absence of Rohit Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah will lead the Indian team in the rescheduled fifth Test with Rishabh Pant named his deputy.

"When there are too many noises in the head, then your mind and body's coordination which helps you to react and play the ball gets broken. No matter how great you are, that automation gets affected. It's natural. People sometimes complicate it, despite being great. Generally, we talk about Virat Kohli chasing the ball away from the off-stump, nicking the ball at fourth or fifth stumps, We see the technical fault, but why is he doing that? There's mental issue behind it," Misbah said in a discussion on ICA Sports YouTube channel.

"He is trying to dominate. Virat Kohli has got ego, pride that 'I have to dominate'. But what is happening is, somewhere were the other, you are over-trying. You go out of your zone. The pressure is getting mounted. There is only one way to get out of it, move away from pressure situation. I can say about my experience. It has happened once or twice with me. I went back and played club cricket. It doesn't matter what quality of bowlers you are facing, at the back of mind that automation comes back once you score runs."

India's Test squad: Jasprit Bumrah (c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Hanuma Vihari, Cheteshwar Pujara, Rishabh Pant (wk), KS