Virat Kolhi getting a break from Asia Cup was just a case of mental fatigue, reveals Ravi Shastri
Getty
Ravi Shastri has revealed that āmental fatigueā was the reason behind resting Virat Kohli in the recently-concluded Asia Cup. Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah, Ishant Sharma and Hardik Pandya have been given a similar break during the Test series against the Windies ahead of the Australia tour.
Virat Kolhi has been in spectacular form in 2018. In the 24 matches he has played so far in the year, he has scored a total of 1774 runs for India. Not to forget the 530 runs in 14 games for RCB in IPL 2018. To do so much, all this while leading both the Indian National team and RCB brings a toll on him, if not physically than mentally.Ā India coach Ravi Shastri noticed it and now he has opened up saying that the rest during Asia Cup was to give captain Kolhi a mental break.Ā
āVirat needed this rest. Physically he is a bull. You canāt give him out of the ground. And the thing with Virat is if he plays, then you know the level of intensity he brings. So it was a case of just mental fatigue, giving him a break, take your mind off cricket and then come back fresh,ā Shastri told Gulf News.
Seamers Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah, Ishant Sharma and all-rounder Hardik Pandya are all rested for the Test series against West Indies and Shashtri also mentioned about them by saying, āWe will have to do it with a lot of other players. You know like Bumrah, Bhuvi,Ā we have to sustain them and keep them energetic.ā
Kohli will look forward to continuing his batting form when he will play against the Windies in the first Test which starts from October 4 in Rajkot. Rishabh Pant and KL Rahul, after smashing brilliant tons in the final Test against England, have been retained in the squad. Youngster Prithvi Shaw and Mayank Agarwal have also been included in the 15-member squad announced for the two Tests against West Indies. Seamer Mohammad Siraj also received a maiden Test call while Shikhar Dhawan, who had a brilliant outing in the Asia Cup, has been dropped due to his poor form in the last Test series in England.
Cricket FootBall Kabaddi
Basketball Hockey
SportsCafe
