Was Virat Kohli Considering Quitting Cricket Due to Poor Form?

(Virat Kohli disappointed after getting out in an International match)

Player of the Decade, ODI Player of the Decade, 26000 International runs, 70+ centuries, and many match-saving knocks, this all speaks on behalf when someone asks “Who is Virat Kohli”. However, everything came down looking like numbers when Virat Kohli was in the worst phase of his cricketing career and was barely able to touch the ball with his bat. This was the time when everyone was criticising him and wanted him to be out of the team because of him not being able to contribute much with the bat. During this period, Virat Kohli lost the captaincy of the Indian team, had rifts with Rohit Sharma and Sourav Ganguly, stepped down as RCB’s captain, and many more which eventually made him decide that it’s time to retire now. But the Asia Cup 2022 came out as a God’s sign to tell Virat Kohli that he has much more to contribute now.

Virat Kohli’s Poor form in 2020-2022

The year was 2019 when Virat Kohli was at the top of the cricketing world with all the records being shattered by him. Averaging almost 50+ in all three formats, Virat Kohli was hailed as the best batsman of this generation, and against Bangladesh, he scored the 70th century of his International career. With all the things going well, Virat Kohli was looking set to elevate his career along with having the intention of winning an ICC Trophy under his captaincy. But suddenly the Covid-19 pandemic is all over the world and the International cricket is stopped which makes the cricketers out of practice and routine.

(Virat Kohli during a T20 match against West Indies)

And when things got back to normal, the bad phase started for Virat Kohli who performed poorly for the Indian team in the series against Australia and also had an average IPL season with the Royal Challengers Bangalore. After that, it was the England team that visited India in 2021 and it was another poor series for Virat Kohli as he managed only 172 runs from the 6 innings while averaging 28.67 with the bat. Just like this, the IPL 2021 arrived and Virat Kohli was again going through a rough patch as he got only 405 runs from the 15 innings with a strike rate of 119.46 for the team.

With the end of the Indian Premier League, India toured England for another 5 match Test series and in the English conditions, it was never going to be easy for him. He again failed to make an impact in the series and got only 218 runs from the 7 innings played while averaging 31.14 with the bat. All the things were going against Virat Kohli and he announced that it was his season as Royal Challengers Bangalore captain and would also step down as the captain of the Indian team from the T20 Format after the T20 World Cup.

(Indian team disappointed after being knocked out from the T20 World Cup 2021)

Coming to the 2021 T20 World Cup, the Indian team entered the tournament with a lot of hopes and hence were the favourites to win the trophy. However, a 10-wicket loss against Pakistan and an 8-wicket loss against New Zealand ended India's hopes of winning the T20 World Cup and it was Virat Kohli who lost his captaincy too. While going on the South Africa tour, Virat Kohli was informed by the selectors that he had been sacked as an ODI Captain of the Indian team and it was a rift between him and Sourav Ganguly that led the selection panel to make this decision.

In the South Africa tour, it was again Virat Kohli who was going through a poor form and he scored just 161 runs in the 4 innings played. India lost the Test series by 2-1 and at the end, Virat Kohli stepped down from the Test Captaincy of the Indian team after he was targeted mentally by all the reporters and the selection panel. Moreover, his poor form also came out as the reason why everyone wanted a new captain for the team and hence Virat Kohli was through a rough patch where he was a soft target for all the public media houses.

(Virat Kohli stepped down from the Test Captaincy after the South Africa series)

For the 2022 Asia Cup and the 2022 T20 World Cup, there were calls from ex-cricketers such as Kapil Dev, Sunil Gavaskar, and many more to drop Virat Kohli from the team as he wasn’t contributing much to the team. In the Test format, he averaged a mere 24 with the bat in those two years while his ODI average was not more than 44. With all the things against Virat Kohli, it was tough to back him for the two major tournaments but somehow the selectors showed faith in him to make things possible.

Comeback in the Asia Cup and the T20 World Cup

With all the things going against Virat Kohli, he took a break from his cricketing duties and started spending time with his family to make sure he was good with his mental health. He was now named in the Indian team for the Asia Cup and it was going to be a crucial tournament for him. Under the captaincy of Rohit Sharma, it was a major task for the Indian team to come and win the Asia Cup. The first match of the tournament for the Indian team was scheduled against Pakistan and it was Virat Kohli who had an amazing record against them.

From the Indian team, Virat Kohli was the top run-scorer of the match along with Ravindra Jadeja as he got 35 runs in that innings which helped the team to secure a victory by 5 wickets. After this, the whole tournament went in Kohli’s favour as he was the top run-scorer for the team amassing 276 runs from the 5 innings played at an average of 92.00. At the end of the tournament, India failed to qualify for the Finals and hence it was a major setback for the team out there.

(Virat Kohli celebrates after scoring his maiden T20 century against Afghanistan)

Furthermore, Virat Kohli scored his 71st century in the last match of the tournament against Afghanistan and finally broke the curse of his 3 years century drought. It was a moment which was celebrated widely by all the fans of Virat Kohli. In an interview, Virat Kohli said that if the Asia Cup wasn’t going to be a big one for him, he would have retired from the game.

“The most important factor in that whole transnational period before the Asia Cup last year was the fact that I was willing to let go of everything. I was willing to accept that when I go back and play, it might be the last month of me playing competitive cricket and I am absolutely okay with it.”

"Everyone was like we observe this and this is the solution for it. I couldn't get the point across that

whatever shortcoming is, there is because of this (pointing towards his head). When you are not right

mentally, you are all over the place. There were no technical issues because I have done this for 15

years. It can't be that all went to a standstill and the technical issues pop out right now. When I came

back fresh and started hitting the ball again and people were like 'Oh you made some serious changes'.

But I didn't pick up the bat for six weeks.”

(Virat Kohli during the Asia Cup 2022 game)

Furthermore, Virat Kohli also mentioned how the expectation from his fans was a thing that was not going to help him. He elaborated that it was going to be a pressure situation whenever he met people as everyone was expecting him to get a century in the next match. Moreover, when he got a century in the Asia Cup, his initial reaction was a smiling one because of this moment, he was waiting for almost 3 years.

“My past performances did not give me a sense that I could do whatever I want. I felt I needed to justify

myself for being there at all times. I need to make sure that I am giving my absolute best and if I cannot

do that organically, something needs to change. It felt like I was living with a facade on top, felt made up

and unnatural. I wanted to say that I want to live, how I want to live and if that means it is the end of

the journey, so be it.”

“I met people all over the world and they wanted me to get a hundred to enjoy their cricket. I wondered

if my achievements they wanted to see were to make them...feel happy. I was feeling weighed down

even more by this. I was like Man wherever I go, this is the only response I get and I don't have many

ppl asking me if I'm okay, or what's going on. But it was like 'We need, we need, we need' at all times.

it was difficult to process it and I couldn't be normal at any place. I had these expectations flowing on me

from every nook and corner and it became very intense.”

With all this, Virat Kohli again ended up as the top run-scorer of the Indian team in the T20 World Cup and his 82* innings against Pakistan still remains fresh in the mind of his fans. Apart from it, he was also the highest run-getter for the Indian team in the 2023 ODI World Cup where he scored 765 runs while averaging 95.62 with the bat for the team. For his performance, he also won the Player of the Tournament award too.