IPL 2022: Ravi Shastri asserts 'overcooked' Virat Kohli needs break from cricket

Despite quitting the captaincy, Virat Kohli has not been in the best form for Royal Challengers Bangalore in IPL 2022. Ravi Shastri feels Kohli needs a break from cricket.

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Virat Kohli has been unstable in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022. Despite quitting the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) captaincy, he has failed to find an acceptable form and continues to struggle for runs. At the same time, former Team India head coach Ravi Shastri has termed him as 'overcooked'.

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Kohli has been in an intermediate form for RCB in IPL 2022. So far, Kohli has scored 119 runs in six innings at an average of 23.80 and a strike rate of 125.26. While he has a top score of 48, he is yet to slam a half-century or ton. He was dismissed for his fourth IPL golden duck against new side Lucknow Super Giants (LSG), while RCB won by 18 runs on Tuesday.

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Analysing Kohli's current form, Shastri told Star Sports, "I am going straight to the main guy here. Virat Kohli is overcooked. If anyone needs a break, it's him. Whether it's two months or a month and a half, it's after England [tour in July], or before England, he needs a break because he has six-seven years of cricket left in him, and you don't want to lose that with a fried brain."

"When I was coach when this first started, I said, 'You have to show empathy to the guys.' If you're going to be forceful, there is a slim line there, from a guy losing the plot instead of him hanging in there and giving his best. So, you have to be extremely careful," added Shastri.

Notably, Kohli has been without a century in competitive cricket for over a couple of years. He has been struggling on the international stage, as he has given up on captaincy across formats. Shastri also feels that besides Kohli, two more players might be facing the same issue.