'I will give Virat Kohli the same advice Don Bradman did, that is 'Go son...'': India great's message for former captain
A former India coach has shared a piece of advice for Kohli which was once used by the late great Sir Don Bradman.
As Virat Kohli gears up to make his much-awaited return to international cricket, whether he will be able to roar back to form remains to be seen. Kohli, once a dominant force in world cricket, has been struggling lately, with his last international half-century coming in February against West Indies. There's been plenty of hue and cry over his place in Indian team, and even though coach Rahul Dravid and captain Rohit Sharma has backed the former India skipper to the hilt, deep down everyone is aware that time is running out.
Several former cricketers have come up with different takes to help Kohli end his struggle, and joining the bandwagon is the legendary Chandu Borde. The former India coach has shared a piece of advice for Kohli which was once used by the late great Sir Don Bradman. Borde recalled one of his early tours of Australia, where he saw Bradman pull an ace up his sleeve and feels the same can work for Kohli dismiss his shoddy form.
"We went to Australia in 1968. Their captain was going through a bad phase. Sir Don Bradman advised him to hit every ball in the practice session. After that he came on the field and hit a hundred against us," Borde told India TV. "I will give the same advice to Virat Kohli that Sir Don Bradman did. 'Go son, go into the net and hit every ball' but to be honest, no one knows what will work for you in bad times."
Kohli's slump cannot be attributed to a single flaw. It's not like he is all over the place. There have been occasions when he has looked really good, timing the ball, playing crisp shots, getting beautiful boundaries. But out of the blue comes a ball that is getting the better of Kohli, something that never used to be a problem with the star India batter. One of Kohli's strengths when he was at his peak was his immense concentration. If Kohli scored a fifty, nine out of 10 times, he would covert it into a century. That seems to have gone missing.
"From Gavaskar to Tendulkar and me, every player has to go through this. You get out on a simple ball, you get out even after playing the best shot. I have not been able to find any conditional treatment till now to deal with this situation," added Borde.
