India might have failed to make it to the Asia Cup 2022 final but one of the biggest gains from the tournament was Virat Kohli returning to his old self. During the event, Kohli peeled off two fifties and a maiden T20I century signalling that he has left behind his period of struggle.
During a media interaction, Kohli was quite open about his mental struggles as he claimed that barring MS Dhoni, nobody reached out to him when he decided to step down from Test captaincy in a shocking decision earlier this year. That triggered speculations that he was referring to the BCCI and team management in general for not backing him up during that phase.
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Former India cricketer Ajay Jadeja said he’s glad that a player of Kohli’s stature was forthcoming on his mental struggles.
“He himself said about being in a place (mentally) where he shouldn’t have been. So he has cleared that it was all mental," Jadeja said during a discussion with former Pakistan captain Rashid Latif on YouTube channel Caught Behind.
He continued, “I don’t recall any player who didn’t score a century for his long. I’m very happy that he has spoken about it (mental aspect). In India and Pakistan, it’s hard for someone to confess that they are facing mental issues. We believe that cricketers, especially a captain cannot be mentally disturbed. They are humans after all."
Former Pakistan captain Rashid Latif was also part of the discussion and he observed that from outside, it appears that since Sourav Ganguly’s arrival as BCCI president, things took a turn for worse for Kohli who at one stage was the India captain across formats.
“MS Dhoni was taken as mentor (for 2021 T20 World Cup). Around that time, Kohli announced he won’t be captaining (in T20Is) anymore. Then after South Africa tour, he stepped down as Test captain. Maybe, after Sourav Ganguly’s arrival, changes were made," Latif said.
He continued, “(Then) Ravi Shastri left (as head coach post T20 WC), Virat Kohli left (as captain). Rahul Dravid came in (as head coach), VVS Laxman (NCA director) came in, Vikram Rathour was already there. Maybe, in the background, a player at highest point of his career was deliberately troubled and mentally tortured. It’s my observation."
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