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KOHLI COMEBACK SHARPENS NEED TO ADDRESS MENTAL HEALTH ISSUES

As the T20 World Cup gets underway, Virat Kohli will be under fans’ scrutiny once again. He will be one of the most closely watched superstars in the tournament. A fit and inform Virat implies a special edge for Team India regaining the T20 trophy that they have never won after their victory in the inaugural edition in 2007. Virat’s comeback since the Asia Cup and his admissions about mental turmoil during his form slump have highlighted the need to address mental health as a top priority in Indian cricket. Kohli’s barren spell with the bat finally ended with his sparkling run in the Asia Cup. As he scored 122 off just 61 deliveries in India’s last Asia Cup match, Virat notched up his first hundred for nearly three years. His 71st international century and a string of vital knocks since then reflect that the former India captain is closing in on his best. His run drought had deeply impacted his mental wellbeing. Kohli’s performances had specially nosedived over the past year, easily the worst phase of his career. During the 2022 IPL, Virat managed just one fifty in 16 matches as he got the greatest number of Golden Ducks (3) in the season. His batting woes continued during India’s tour of England where 20 was his highest score in six innings across different formats! Besides on-field slump, offfield battles dogged Virat over the past year as his equation with the BCCI deteriorated sharply. First, he announced his resignation as India captain in the shortest format, just ahead of the last T20 World Cup. Soon, the BCCI sacked him as the ODI Skipper and replaced him with Rohit Sharma – though Kohli was keen to continue leading in Tests and ODIs. Later, Virat even stepped down as Test Captain, hours after India’s series defeat against South Africa.

Beyond the bitterness with BCCI was the huge load that Virat shouldered in his Captaincy years. As pointed out by former India Coach Ravi Shastri, in the past five years Virat has played double the matches as compared to batters like Kane Williamson, Joe Root, Babar Azam and Steve Smith. As such, mental fatigue was a major issue afflicting Kohli. With his form dipping and some experts even questioning his place in the team, Virat took a crucial break from the game. During the month-long break after the England tour, he disconnected himself from the game and didn’t even touch his bat for a month – as he admitted in a candid interview on his return. Kohli remarked, “I realised that I was trying to fake my intensity a bit, recently. You are convincing yourself: ‘No, I have the intensity.’ But your body is telling you to stop. Your mind’s telling you to take a break and step back.” Despite his aura and ‘inyour-face’ aggression, Kohli’s comments reflect how vulnerable he has been on mental health issues. As he admitted in that frank chat, “I am looked at as a guy who is mentally very strong, and I am. But everyone has a limit, and you need to recognise that limit, otherwise, things can get unhealthy for you. This is a very normal thing to feel, but we don’t speak, we don’t want to be looked at as mentally weak.” His candid confessions made it clear that after a month’s rest Kohli was keen to rediscover his batting mojo. With his fresh mindset, Virat scored 276 runs at an average of 92 and played vital knocks in four of his five innings in the Asia Cup. Impressive knocks in later series with Australia and South Africa have silenced critics and signalled that Kohli is ready to regain his batting crown.

With the Covid Crisis deepening mental health problems in multiple ways, protecting sportsmen from mental scars is now even more serious. An additional factor for Indian cricketers is the negativity that social media often generates. The heavy trolling that Mohammed Shami, Rishab Pant and Arshdeep Singh (to name just 3) have faced in the past year is too recent to bear repetition. Kohli’s comeback in form suggests that it is high time that BCCI makes mental conditioning experts an integral part of Team India. Though the BCCI has recently roped in Paddy Upton as India’s mental conditioning coach, he will work with the Indian team only till the T20 World Cup! Given the gravity of current challenges, the BCCI needs to use its vast financial resources to get constant counselling and full-time help for players through mental health experts. If the Virat saga helps to make mental fitness a key component of team preparations, the long-term health of Indian Cricket is bound to improve!

THE VIEWS EXPRESSED BY THE AUTHOR ARE PERSONAL

SIDDHAARTH MAHAN  The writer is a specialist on Sports and Cinema who works as an actor in the Hindi film industry

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