Former Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) captain Virat Kohli’s form has been a concern for the team management. The 33-year-old batter has only scored 146 runs in nine innings so far, and was dismissed on merely 9 off 10 deliveries in his last outing against Rajasthan Royals on Tuesday. The batting great was promoted in the batting order as he opened alongside Faf du Plessis but failed to revive his fortunes as he conceded a soft dismissal to Prasidh Krishna in the second over of the 145-run chase.
Kohli’s outings with the bat have been increasingly becoming a cause of concern for the RCB and many former cricketers have suggested a break for the former captain to recover his lost touch. However, former RCB captain and coach Daniel Vettori, who also led Kohli during his stint in the IPL, insisted that the 33-year-old has to be “all-out aggressive” in his approach.
“You have to acknowledge that this is a time when you have to go and find out what’s going through in your mind. I think you just got to be all-out aggressive and I think that potentially is the play. It still looks like he’s feeling for that innings and for the performance,” Vettori said on ESPNCricinfo.
“Faf (du Plessis) and (Glenn) Maxwell need him to take the lead and take the pressure off them. Just be as aggressive as possible.”
The former New Zealand cricketer further added that Kohli needs to step out more, and “take the game to the bowler.”
“Step out. I think that’s where he can get the momentum. It’s a shot he plays very good, carving through the off-side. He will put the pressure on the bowler and the bowler will then have to make a decision at the moment. Right now, the bowler is putting him in a spot and letting him make a mistake. I think (when he steps out and be aggressive), he’s going to take the game to the bowler,” Vettori said.
