Let's travel back to 2016. It was a time when Virat Kohli's early dismissals caught everyone off-guard. He had built such a reputation for himself that everyone expected him to perform each time he went on the field.
Fast forward to 2022, Virat's decline as a batsman has taken the cricket world by storm. He hasn't scored a century in any format for three years now. The wait for that 71st hundred has gained mythical proportions.
All of this further gained steam when he was out on duck on two consecutive games. Royal Challengers Bangalore lost to Sunrisers Hyderabad by nine wickets on Saturday with Kohli still struggling to find form.
While the collective failure of the batting unit was criticised, Kohli's poor performance is also a point of concern for the squad.
With 6402 runs to his name, Kohli is the highest run-getter in the history of IPL. But this season hasn't been kind to him, and he has failed to deliver.
He has an average of 17 in eight matches thus far. This is Virat’s worst season average since his 2008's average of 15. He started well with 41 runs, and in the next two matches, he contributed 12 and 5 runs.
In his fourth match, Virat reached 48. He looked in good touch. But it got worse from there. He scored a single run in the next match and 12 in the following game. And then came the nightmare, two-back to back ducks on the first ball.
Commentator Harsha Bhogle described Virat’s current situation with a tweet, “The games that life plays with the mightiest. #Virat.”
"I am going straight to the main guy here. Virat Kohli is overcooked. If anyone needs a break, it's him," said former India coach Ravi Shastri.
"Whether it's 2 months or a month-and-a-half, whether it's after England or before England. He needs a break because he has got 6-7 years of cricket left in him and you don't want to lose that with a fried brain," he added
RCB head coach, on the other hand, defended Virat. "He is somebody who has consistently performed for RCB. Players go through rough patches. He is certainly doing everything that is in his control. He is doing his fitness and skills and taking good breaks and not letting the pressure get to him. He has been taking breaks at regular intervals and will continue to do so going forward," he said.
RCB is currently placed fifth on the points table. When RCB meet Rajasthan on April 26, Tuesday, Virat's performance will be in focus again.
What can Kohli do to bounce back into form? The former RCB captain is arguably one of the greatest batsmen of all time and once he gets going he will be unstoppable. With the IPL getting towards the business end, the race to book a playoff berth has already begun with RCB placed in a precarious position.
Bangalore's Powerplay score hasn't been extraordinary and with Kohli struggling at No.3 the management might ask the batting great to open the innings. It might be just the move that could benefit both RCB and Kohli.
