‘Great players go through phases like this’: Faf du Plessis on Virat Kohli’s lean patch in IPL 2022

Virat Kohli is undoubtedly a modern great batter, but the Indian superstar is currently going through a bad patch with the willow. Kohli is in the middle of a nightmarish run in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022, registering a string of low scores in the tournament.

After two first-ball ducks, all eyes were again set on Kohli as the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) had a face-off with Rajasthan Royals (RR) in Match 39 at Pune’s MCA Stadium on Tuesday. However, Kohli’s stay in the middle didn’t last long as he scored just 9 runs – his fifth single-digit score of the season –before being dismissed by Prasidh Krishna.

In 9 matches so far, the Delhi-born genius batter has only managed to score 128 runs at a dreadful average of 16. Many experts, including former India coach Ravi Shastri and ex-England captain Kevin Pietersen, had called for Kohli to take a break and come back stronger. But, RCB skipper Faf du Plessis has a different take.

The South African star reckoned that many great players go through phases like the one Kohli is experiencing, and they will back him to turn things around. Du Plessis mentioned that Kohli was sent in to open the innings, so he did not get time to think about the lean patch while waiting for his chance to come in the middle.

“Great players go through these things. Great players go through phases like this. We wanted him to get in straightaway so that he doesn’t sit on the sidelines and think about the game,” said Du Plessis in the post-match presentation on Tuesday.

“He (Kohli) is a great player, and we still back him to turn it around, and hopefully, it’s around the corner. It’s a game of confidence,” du Plessis added.

In the match, RCB failed to chase the paltry target of 145 and lost the contest by 29 runs to record their fourth defeat of the fifteenth season.

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April 27, 2022 at 03:00PM