Indian captain Rohit Sharma has revealed that Virat Kohli is looking in fine touch in the practice net sessions ahead of the Asia Cup 2022. Kohli is making a return to the team after almost a month and Sharma is confident that Kohli will be able to get back in form.
Kohli recently admitted that he is in a better mental state after taking a break from the game. The veteran batter also revealed that he was feeling mentally down, which was hampering his game in the last few months.
Meanwhile, Kohli has always been a consistent performer but he has struggled to get going in the recent past. It will be pivotal for India that he returns back to form before the all-important T20 World Cup, which is to be played later in the year.
“Maine jitna dekha (Whatever I saw), I felt he was in very good touch. He working hard a lot on his batting. He isn’t looking like he is thinking about a lot of things. He is just the same, didn’t notice anything extraordinary changes. He is returning after a month’s break so he looking fresh and is also looking in good touch,” Rohit Sharma said in the pre-match press conference.
Kohli did open on his recent struggle with mental health. Commenting on the same, Rohit added such issues are discussed within the team as it has not been easy for players to play under the bio bubble during the Covid-19 pandemic.
“We do talk about these things a lot of late. Since Covid has struck, it has been difficult for a lot of players, not just Virat Kohli, who have gone through such a tough time mentally – staying in the bubble, not being able to go outside – guys have found it difficult and there is nothing wrong in it. Every player has a way to respond to that and we constantly talk about these things about how the players are mentally and how they are thinking about the game,” he said.
Meanwhile, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli are both going to hold the key for the Indian team in the Asia Cup. The Men in Blue will want their two experienced batters to be at their absolute best in the multi-team tournament.
India are the reigning champions and they will look to defend their title.
Squad: Rohit Sharma (c), KL Rahul, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant, Dinesh Karthik, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, R. Ashwin, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Arshdeep Singh, Ravi Bishnoi, Avesh Khan, Deepak Hooda, Yuzvendra Chahal.