Former Indian cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar has said that Indian batter Virat Kohli, who has been struggling to get into form, needs to settle his mind and not put too much pressure on himself by overthinking and practising much. Manjrekar’s remarks come just ahead of the Champions Trophy clash against arch-rivals Pakistan, scheduled to be played on Sunday in Dubai.
Of late, Kohli has not been able to fire on all cylinders, encountering difficulties against spinners. Ahead of the high-octane battle, Kohli spent long hours in the nets, practising against spinners. In India’s Champions Trophy opener against Bangladesh, Kohli scored 22 runs, losing his wicket to Bangladesh spinner Rishad Hossain.
"When you (Kohli) are slightly out of form and runs, you think of practising too much and thinking too much... sometimes (you) just over do it. Just keep hitting the balls in the nets. It's more of mind thing (and) not (just) about (the) batting technique," Manjrekar said on as quoted by Times of India.
"He is going through a difficult time, and has (had) some technical issues... in the last match he lacked confidence but he is trying his best. He just needs to settle his mind a little bit without trying too hard, and go out there with a relaxed mind," he added.
Former Indian cricketer also remarked on Rishabh Pant's situation as India continue to stick with wicketkeeper-batter KL Rahul, who has been incredibly good with bat.
"India were pretty good (against Bangladesh), most boxes got ticked. I don't see drastic changes if the pitch is doesn't demand. Kuldeep (Yadav) needs a little more game time. (KL) Rahul got some runs, so I don't think any new wicketkeeper-batter is going to replace him. Till Rahul is contributing, Pant will stay out but Pant is rare talent for India. It's a sorry situation for him," he added.