Virat Kohli will be fine if he can be calm and play at his own pace, says Ravi Shastri

New Delhi: Former India head coach Ravi Shastri believes Virat Kohli can make a turnaround in the upcoming Border-Gavaskar Trophy if he can maintain his composure, play at his own rhythm, and resist the urge to be in a rush. The talismanic Kohli managed to hit just one half-century and averaged just 21.33 across India’s five home Test matches against Bangladesh and New Zealand. In the unprecedented 3-0 series loss to New Zealand, Kohli could amass only 93 runs in six innings.

Such has been his lean patch that Kohli has dropped out of the top 20 ICC Men’s Test batting rankings. “Your juices are flowing, you're charged up. It's again a case with Virat. You want to see calmness because at times you are over-eager to get out there and throw the first punch,” said Shastri on the ICC Review show.

“But I think that calmness in the first half an hour where he gets out to bat or in the first three innings of the series will be extremely important. If he can be calm and play the game at his own pace rather than being in a hurry, I think he'll be fine," said the former India captain and head coach.

In 13 games in Australia, a country he’s toured since 2011, Kohli has amassed 1352 runs at an average of 54.08, including six centuries and four fifties.

“Well, the King is back in his territory. That's all I will tell them. When you've earned that title after your exploits in Australia, it will be on your (opponent's) mind when you go out to bat,” added Shastri, who was the head coach when India won the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series in 2018/19 and 2020/21 respectively.

The 2024/25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy will see India and Australia play Test matches in Perth, Adelaide (pink-ball match), Brisbane, Melbourne, and Sydney from November 22 to January 7, 2025. It will also be the first five-match Test series between India and Australia since 1991/92. IANS

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