‘After WI series, Virat Kohli will..’: Pragyan Ojha gives HUGE update on star batsman’s future

Ever since Virat Kohli was rested for the entire West Indies tour, the star batsman has been criticised for his choice to take a break from cricket, with the likes of Sunil Gavaskar and Kapil Dev stating that playing more matches should ideally help Kohli rediscover his golden touch. 

The West Indies tour could have been ideal preparation for the 33-year-old ahead of the Asia Cup, however, there have been reports claiming that Kohli could yet feature in the three-match ODI series against Zimbabwe. 

While there hasn’t been any official update about Kohli’s return, the good news is, that this could be the final break that he would take before the upcoming ICC T20 World Cup. 

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Former Indian cricketer Pragyan Ojha has offered a huge update on Virat Kohli’s future. Talking to Jamie Alter on his Glance chat show, The Alternate View, Ojha hinted that the former India skipper will be available for all the upcoming series in the build-up to the World Cup. 

“By comeback I am talking about getting runs. Once a batter of his calibre gets a few runs going, then things change drastically. And I am sure as I am hearing that after the West Indies tour, he will be going for all the series thereon. I don’t think he will take any breaks, which is a great thing. He should be doing that. I don’t think there is an issue in his skill or anything else. He’s been batting brilliantly, but sometimes how you handle yourself mentally matters. Keep in mind the schedule,” said Ojha. 

He further continued, “Look at Ben Stokes… he just said ‘boss, we’re not vehicles that you just put petrol and we start running’. At times his effects everybody. But I am saying that, Virat must play every chance he gets because if you don’t play how will you get the confidence?”

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The veteran left-arm spinner also gave an interesting take on why Kohli is taking breaks. He stated that the Delhi-born cricketer may not be there mentally and that playing so much cricket in bio-bubbles in the last two years, could have taken a toll on him. 

“When you look at Virat’s batting, it is not about the skill or that he’s not timing it well or his fitness has taken a beating. He’s just there, and I think better than others with his work ethic and discipline. The only thing is that maybe mentally he’s a little caught up somewhere. Maybe that’s why he’s been regularly taking breaks,” asserted Ojha. 

He added, “We have to understand that the last couple of years were very challenging with the bio bubbles and all, and you don’t know how it affects someone individually. What Virat has done for Indian cricket, he is getting the right kind of backing, but personally I feel that he should have been there in the West Indies because this was a great opportunity for him to make a comeback and get some great runs.”