'He's a little bit quieter, the emotions are not there', says Brad Hogg on Virat Kohli's attitude after captaincy change
Brad Hogg believes that Virat Kohli should take a short break from cricket
|Former Australia cricketer Brad Hogg has said that Virat Kohli has not looked like his dominating self on the field since stepping down from Test captaincy after the recently concluded South Africa series. Hogg further added that the right-handed batsman should take a short break from the game.
Virat Kohli decided to quit India's Test captaincy after the conclusion of the three-match Test series against South Africa, which the visitors lost by 1-2. The 33-year-old had already stepped down from T20I captaincy after the T20 World Cup 2021, and later the right-hand batsman was sacked from India's ODI leadership.
Several former cricketers have pointed out that Kohli’s body language has changed since he left Team India's captaincy. Brad Hogg is the newest to join the bandwagon saying that Virat Kohli's in-your-face attitude has been missing, and the 33-year-old has been less expressive on the field.
"Kohli is a little bit lost in the way he wants to go about his business. He's a little bit quieter, the emotions are not there. When he's batting, he's not really in the bowler's face. Yes, there were glimpses or two, but really it's not the Kohli of old, that determined player who wants to take authority," Brad Hogg said on his YouTube channel.
"When he's not in a leadership position, he's a little bit uncertain of how to conduct himself. I think Kohli has got at least 5 years of cricket left in him for India,” he added.
India are scheduled to play three ODIs and as many T20Is against West Indies, which begins on February 6 with the first ODI in Ahmedabad. After the conclusion of the white-ball series against the West Indies, India will host Sri Lanka for two Tests and three T20Is. Kolhi is likely to play to his 100th Test match during the first Test against Sri Lanka at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru.
Hogg suggested that Virat Kohli should take a short break for the series against West Indies, which allows Rohit Sharma to show full authority in the dressing room as captain of the team. The former Australian spinner further suggested that Kohli can come back for the Sri Lanka series, and play his natural game.
"They've got the West Indies lined up next where they can turn things around. I think it would be wise if Virat Kohli can take just a little break, to allow Rohit Sharma to show that authority in the dressing room with the next generation of players,” Hogg said.
"Once that is settled, he can come back for the Sri Lanka series. For me, Rohit and Virat, with Virat not knowing how to quite attack the game moving forward could be a little bit of an issue. It's not deliberate, or ego about it, it's just a change of scenery for Kohli.” he added.
