New Delhi, India: Former Australian cricketer Brad Hogg says India’s star batsman Virat Kohli’s recent poor performance may be more due to “off-field drama” than what’s happening on the field. The Cricket Board of Control added: India’s new policy regarding family members during international tours could put added stress on the veteran batsman.
Virat was one of the players who came under intense scrutiny after the 1-3 loss to Australia in the recently concluded Border-Gavaskar Trophy, where he could only score 190 runs in 10 innings. Virat made his mark last year by scoring just 655 runs in 23 international matches and 32 innings at an average of 21.83, reaching a century and a half. His highest score was 100*.
Following the team’s collective failure, the BCCI introduced new policies for players, touching on several aspects such as luggage, family participation on tour, and playing domestic cricket. Under the new policy, players’ family time during away tours was limited to just 14 hours. day to day.
Hogg said on his YouTube channel that Virat is currently not playing his best as he has “too much to do”.
“He has a family now. He has a different commitment off the field that he didn’t have when he was dominating all three formats around the world. So this is just a cricket issue. ‘Well, it’s what’s happening off the field,’ Hogg said.
“I think there is more drama off the field than on the field for Virat. But I think he’s doing too much of what he has to do and that’s probably why he’s not performing as well as he is at the moment. ” he added.
Speaking further about BCCI’s rules regarding families, Hogg said: “With the new rules that the BCCI has introduced regarding family, it will be more stressful for Virat as well for his wife and family because he has to maintain that balance, especially with the amount of cricket and travel in India at the moment. Given the volume, we believe players should be able to bring their families on tour as much as possible.”
Hogg also said India’s problems during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy were not due to family presence, but rather the culture created by new head coach Gautam Gambhir and the support staff in the dressing room.
Virat has been facing a significant decline in test performance since the beginning of 2020. In 39 Test matches since the beginning of 2020, Virat has scored just 3028 runs at an average of 30.72. show. His best score is 186.
Virat completed the ICC World Test Championship 2023-25 cycle with two centuries and three fifties, conceding 751 runs in 14 matches and 25 innings at an average of 32.65. His best score was 121.
In 10 Tests last year, he ended a disappointing year by scoring just 417 runs at an average of 24.52 despite being just 150 years old.
This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to the text.
