New Delhi: Former South Africa captain AB de Villiers has asked Indian batter Virat Kohli to avoid on-field battles with players and crowd after India lost the Sydney Test by six wickets on Sunday, squandering the early advantage in Perth to concede the five-match series 1-0.
Kohli has a history against Australia. Be it the heated exchanges with players, banters with the crowd, or his coverage by the Australian media. It gets spicier every time the Indian batting star makes a visit down under for a Test tour in particular.
While India were at the challenging task of defending 162 against Australia in a bid to retain the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, Kohli put his hands in the pockets of his pant, gesturing the Australian supporters that he has no sandpaper in the pocket, referring the infamous 2018 Cape Town scandal against South Africa.
This happened after his shoulder barged incident with Australian youngster Sam Konstas in the Boxing-Day Test at the MCG.
“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,” de Villiers said in a video posted on his X handle.
“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,” he added.
De Villiers’ advice to Kohli on batting form
Kohli started the Australia tour with a magnificent ton in Perth. Since then the runs dried up from his bat, adding 85 runs in the next seven innings at an average of 12.14. His dismissals are in the common mode, chasing the balls outside the off-stump line, leading to edge the keeper or slips around the wickets.
“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.
AB de Villiers advised Virat Kohli to minimize on-field confrontations with players and the crowd. De Villiers highlighted Kohli’s combative spirit as both a strength and a potential weakness, particularly when his batting form dips. He suggested Kohli focus on resetting his mindset after each ball. Cricket Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
