Virat Kohli agreed that Ravi Shastri has seen him at close quarters and that a break is definitely something he would discuss with Rahul Dravid and Rohit Sharma.
Virat Kohli, while speaking to the broadcasters Star Sports, said that he had heard Ravi Shastri’s suggestion to take a break and that he would think about it and possibly talk to the Indian team management about it.
“It’s not a lot of people who mentioned it (taking a break),” Kohli told Star Sports in an interview pre-game. “There is one person precisely who has mentioned it which is Ravi bhai and that’s because he has seen from close quarters over the last six-seven years the reality of the situation that I have been in. The amount of cricket that I have played and the ups and downs and the toll that it takes on you to play three formats of the game plus the IPL for 10-11 years non-stop with the seven years of captaincy.”
Kohli felt that a break was something that would help him reset. Currently, he has the second-worst average for any batter to bat 200 balls in IPL 2022. His poor form had been linked to not taking a rejuvenating break by India’s former coach Ravi Shastri.
“I think a break is ideal for him because he has played non-stop cricket and he has captained the side across all formats. It will be wise of him to take a break. You know, sometimes you have to draw the balance. This year he is already into the tournament (IPL 2022), tomorrow if push comes to shove and you want to prolong your international career and make a mark there for 6-7 years, pull out of the IPL, for all you care,” Shastri said while speaking on Jatin Sapru’s Youtube Channel.
Kohli admitted to hearing the conversation and agreed that it wasn’t a bad idea at all.
“It is definitely a thing that one needs to consider because you don’t want to do something which you are not a part of 100% and I have always believed in that in my life. So to take a break and when to take a break is obviously something that I need to take a call on, but it is only a healthy decision for anyone to take some time off and just rejuvenate yourself mentally and physically. Not so much physically because physical fitness you keep up with through the course of playing cricket all the time, but it is a mental kind of reset that you need, and you want to be excited for what you are doing. You don’t want to feel like you have been forcing yourself into any situation.
I don’t think there is anything wrong in that. It’s a very healthy thing to think of especially with the amount of cricket that we play nowadays and the amount of cricket that I have played in the last 10-11 years as I mentioned. It’s only a thing of creating a balance and finding that balance which is right for you as an individual moving forward and I’ll definitely discuss this with all the people involved – Rahul bhai, the Indian team management, everyone to chart out whatever is best for myself and for the team definitely,” Kohli said.
