Virat Kohli’s family commitments, off-field drama blamed for form slump; former cricketer says, ‘Not just about cricket’

Veteran Indian batter Virat Kohli has been a under tremendous scrutiny due to a lean patch he has been going through with the bat for a while. Kohli who was once considered to reach and even surpass the heights reached by Sachin Tendulkar, now faces questions over his place in the Indian team. 

The big question in the mind of Indian fans has been what happened to the star cricketer who was once an unstoppable run machine. Former Australian cricketer Brad Hogg has now given possible answers to that question in a video on his YouTube channel, stating that it is the ‘drama off the field’ which could be hampering Kohli’s performance. Moreover, Hogg believes that BCCI’s new family policy could end up putting more stress on the veteran batter. 

“He has got a family now. He has other commitments off the field that he did not have when he was really dominating all three formats around the globe. So, it is not just about the cricket, it is what happening off the field as well,” Hogg said on his YouTube channel

“I think it is more the drama off-field than on-field for Virat. I just think he has just got too much on his plate that has probably caused him to not perform as well at this moment,” the former Australian cricketer added

Speaking about BCCI’s new family policy, Hogg said, “With the new rules that the BCCI have brought in in regards to families, that’s even going to put more stress on Virat, for his wife and family as well because you got to have that balance. I think players should be able to have their families on tour as much as possible, especially with the amount of cricket and the amount of travel that India has at the present moment.”

Virat Kohli’s elongated lean patch: 

Kohi has had a few lean years in Test cricket starting from 2020 onwards, scoring just 2,028 in the 39 Test matches at an average of 30.72 with nine fifties and three centuries and a best score of 186. 

The veteran batter’s struggles intensified when he failed to get going during the Bangladesh series at home, followed by a rather average performance in the Border Gavaskar Trophy. Kohli averaged just 24.52 in 10 Test matches played last year, with a solitary fifty and a century to show.