‘Just a matter of one innings’: Former veteran player backs Virat Kohli to comeback strongly

Staying calm, controlling his nerves and spending more time at the crease is what Virat Kohli needs to do in the opinion of former Indian cricketer and renowned coach Pravin Amre. Amre also urged Kohli to set for himself small targets, while adding that he is only “one good innings” away from regaining his long-lost form.

Kohli has been in a slump in the last two and a half years, a period that he has gone without breaching the three-figure mark even once. Even though he has delivered a few performances of note in the said span, he has missed matching his lofty standards by some distance. Kohli’s last international ton dates back to November 2019 when he scored 136 against Bangladesh in the pink-ball Test at Kolkata’s Eden Gardens.

He was recently in action against England in the T20I series, which India won 2-1. However, the right-hander fell cheaply in both games. Before the T20Is, he could not get going in the rescheduled fifth Test either, with scores of 11 and 20 in India’s seven-wicket loss.

Virat Kohli is a chasing master: Pravin Amre

“Virat needs to stay calm. He should not react much and control his nerves. He needs to spend more time on the wicket to score big runs. It’s just a matter of one good innings for Virat. For this, he needs to chase a small target Like focus on the initial 10 runs, then make the next 10 runs, and so on,” Amre told Jagran TV. He reckoned that although there is no question about Kohli’s ability, “he needs to execute things properly by staying calm”.

“Remember that Virat is a chasing master. He needs to help himself and stay calm. When you stay calm, your shot selection will improve, and there will be less chance of you making a mistake. That’s why I feel Virat should chase small targets of 10 runs. That I think will help him a lot. No one has a doubt about his ability, but he needs to execute things properly by staying calm,” said Amre.

Kohli is likely to miss the second ODI of the three-match series against England, having already sat out of the first at the Oval with a groin niggle.