Team India has performed spectacularly in the West Indies tour so far. While the side secured a 3-0 ODI series win over the Windies under the captaincy of Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma has returned to the leadership role as they currently lead the five-match T20I series 3-1. The T20Is saw a number of first teamers return to the side, but the likes of Virat Kohli and Jasprit Bumrah were given further rest. Kohli has been going through a tough time with the bat in recent months. In last month’s tour of England, Kohli failed to cross the 20-run mark in six innings across all formats, raising concerns about his long-term streak. However, former Pakistan captain Mohammad Hafeez said Kohli was under too much “mental pressure” and needed a break to get back to his best. Earlier, Hafeez said in the same show that Hasan Ali should have been given a break a long time ago as he was under severe mental pressure.
“Virat Kohli is one of the best players in the last 10 years. I think he is also facing the same problem.. he needed a break because he was under too much mental pressure. Their decision to keep Virat for this series was the best decision for him,” Hafeez said on Dawn. In another interview on the former Indian captain, Hafeez said that Kohli had lost his “impact” in the last 2-3 years and that his half-century against Pakistan in the 2021 T20 World Cup was also “without impact”.
“I think Virat Kohli is an impact player. We saw in the last 2-3 years that the impact was not there. Even when he scored a half-century against Pakistan in the T20 World Cup last year, it was me, no impact. Until you can have influence, there is no point in playing,” said Hafeez. “Every player needs a break. The Indian board has taken a good decision. This break will help him get back to being an impact player. He’s lost his influence.”
