'Our biggest mistake was we didn't drop him': Mushtaq Ahmed warns Virat Kohli, BCCI against repeating England's blunder

There have been growing concerns over Virat Kohli's uncharacteristic rough patch in international cricket. In the second ODI of the series on Thursday – Kohli's comeback game after he was forced to miss the first match due to groin injury – the star batter's poor run continued as he was dismissed on 16 by left-armer David Willey. This meant Kohli is yet to cross the 20-run mark in the tour of England; in five innings, he registered scores of 11 and 20 (rescheduled fifth Test), 1 and 11 (two T20Is) and 16.

While a lot of former cricketers have analysed Kohli's batting pattern in recent past and tried to decode the reasons behind his slump, former Pakistan cricketer Mushtaq Ahmed has recalled his own coaching experience in England to suggest that Kohli should be given a 3-4 month break from the game. Ahmed was the spin-bowling coach of the English team from 2008 until 2014, and gave an example of the side's former batter Jonathan Trott.

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“He's one of the best players in the world. I remember at one point, Jonathan Trott was scoring a lot of runs for England. Then came a period when he just couldn't score runs, there could've been family issues, mindset, exhaustion, or any other factor for that. Our biggest mistake was that we didn't drop him,” Ahmed said in an interview with Cricket Pakistan.

Trott had left the team mid-way through its Ashes series in November 2013 citing stress and anxiety. He eventually failed to make a successful comeback to the English side and eventually retired from the game in 2015.

“In such a situation, Virat Kohli will have to skip a big series. He has to take a 3-4 month break from cricket. When I used to be dropped, or even rested, and watched my teammates on television, it affected my mindset positively. You become more intense in your training,” the former Pakistan spinner further said.

"If Virat returns after three months, he would forget that he has scored 27 centuries in Tests or 40+ centuries in ODIs. Then, he would make a fresh start and the concentration levels will go high.

“When someone is hungry, they would relish the food even more. It's the same with cricket. When you come back after 3-4 months, your energy level and mindset would be completely changed.”