Virat Kohli has been under the pump for a long time now. The last couple of years has been extremely tough for the former Indian captain. Runs have dried up for him who was once known as the run machine of Indian cricket. Back in November 2019, Kohli scored his last international hundred in the day-night Test against Bangladesh in Kolkata. Since then, things have gone south.
Nothing seems to be working for Kohli as of now. Despite giving up India’s captaincy, he is yet to find his batting mojo back. Recently, he had one of the poorest IPL seasons, scoring 341 runs in 16 games and averaging 22.73. In the rescheduled fifth Test against England, he registered scores of 11 and 20, averaging only 15.50.
Several pundits of the game have suggested an elaborated break for Kohli from international cricket and the latest person to join the bandwagon is former England captain Michael Vaughan. Speaking with Cricbuzz, the latter said Kohli should take a three-month sabbatical from cricket to spend some quality time with family.
“I look at Virat in particular. I knew he had a little bit of a rest at the end of the IPL. But he just looks to me like he needs a sabbatical. He looks like he needs three months away from cricket. Go and sit on a beach,” Vaughan told Cricbuzz.
“Go and do what you can with your family because a career of 20 years, which he probably will end up getting because he’s such a good player. To have a three months break, is it going to affect him? No. Will it help him? Yes,” he added.
Vaughan further highlighted the jam-packed schedule of the India vs England bilateral series which comprises three T20Is followed by as many ODIs. He said such fixtures make things hectic for all-format players.
“I just look at the schedule for India and England. It’s ridiculous. We’ll see more and more of this over the next few years. It’s just impossible that all-format players will be able to play all three formats. The management of all these teams is going to have to be very clever in terms of giving them a breather,” Vaughan.
Kohli, along with Rishabh Pant and Bhuvneshwar Kumar, have been rested for the T20I series opener on Thursday in Southampton. The trio will return for the next game at Edgbaston.
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