The upcoming Asia Cup 2022 presents an opportunity for redemption for Virat Kohli because after giving India’s tours of West Indies and Zimbabwe a miss, he can finally get back to his best after having the time to reflect on his performance and to understand his game better.
India’s tournament opener against Pakistan on August 28 is going to be the former India captain’s 100th appearance in Twenty20 Internationals. Speaking to Star Sports ahead of his historic appearance, Kohli spoke about the mental approach he has adopted and how he has been preparing for the tournament, adding that it is different to the last time he had a poor run of form back in 2014.
“What happened in England [in 2014] was a pattern, so something that I could work on and something that I had to kind of overcome,” he is quoted as saying on ‘Game Plan’.
“Right now, as you rightly mentioned, there is nothing that you can point out saying that the problem is happening here. So, that for me, is actually an easier thing to process because I know that I’m batting well and at times, when I start feeling that rhythm back, then I know that I’m batting well. So, that for me is not an issue, which wasn’t the case in England; I didn’t feel like I was batting well at all. So, I had to work hard on one thing that could be exposed again and again which I overcame; right now this is not the case.”
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Kohli further spoke about how important this phase has been for his career and how it has improved his outlook on his game and life.
“I know where my game stands and you cannot run this far in your international career without having the ability to counter situations and counter conditions and counter different kinds of bowling. So, this for me, is an easier phase to process, but I don’t want to put this phase behind me,” he said.
“I want to learn from it and I want to understand what are the core values that I have, as a sportsperson and as a human being. As long as I’m ticking those boxes, I know there are ups and downs, and when I come out of this phase, I know how consistent I can be. My experiences are sacred to me. Whatever I have experienced in this phase or in the past, as well one thing that I can vouch for, is that I have never valued myself more as a person.”
Rohit Sharma and Co are the defending champions and they begin their campaign with a clash against Pakistan on Sunday in Dubai.
