Virat kohli in action during IPL
After former India coach Ravi Shastri, legendary bowler Brett Lee suggested Virat Kohli to take a break from cricket.
Kohli's form in the 15th IPL was underwhelming by scoring 341 runs in 16 games at a below-par average of 22.73. The Australian speedster said Kohli can consider taking a break, freshen up his mind and work on a few things.
"Do I say it is a concern, I do. I would like him to be scoring more runs of course," Lee said.
In the second qualifier, Kohli chased a fast, rising delivery from pacer Prasidh Krishna, which was wide outside the off-stump, to give a simple catch to Rajasthan Royals skipper Sanju Samson behind the stumps.
"The hardest thing is when Virat Kohli doesn't score runs, generally the team doesn't do well. When we see Kohli had that purple patch, when he got 800-900 runs in that season (IPL 2016) his team (Royal Challengers Bangalore) fared pretty well. We want more from Kohli. A strong Kohli is a strong team. Unfortunately he missed out in the semis; he could not get his team to cross the line of his own bat, getting less than 10 runs. Maybe (it is) a chance for Kohli to go back and try work on a few things and maybe just have a rest from cricket. Just get away and just freshen up the mind," added Lee.
Kohli, who hasn't scored an international hundred for nearly three years, is battling his career's worst slump.
Earlier Shastri had said," “I am going straight to the main guy here. Virat Kohli is overcooked. If anyone needs a break, it’s him. 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.”
(Inputs from PTI)
