Ravichandran Ashwin on Virat Kohli: "ODI cricket is the place where he brought the genius in him to full flow"

Indian off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has suggested that ODI cricket is where Virat Kohli has shone the most. The 36-year-old also felt that the star batter's form had taken a hit due to a lack of 50-over games in recent times.

After struggling in the first two ODIs against Bangladesh this year, Kohli struck consecutive 50-over hundreds. By scoring 113 in the third ODI against Bangladesh in Mirpur, the 33-year-old reached his 72nd international ton. His century against Sri Lanka against Guwahati was his 45th in the format.

Speaking on his YouTube channel, Ashwin recognized that Kohli has looked world-class in ODIs and has been head and shoulders above the rest. He also implicated how 50-over cricket has never been the same since the COVID-19 pandemic struck.

"ODI cricket is the place where he brought the genius in him to full flow. Many of them won’t understand this flow. After Covid, we are seeing more Test cricket and T20 cricket. ODI cricket is played very rarely. We are not getting the same flow of ODI cricket. Virat Kohli is one of those cricketers who has been playing continuously for a long time now."

The Delhi-born batter's form across formats has been a concern for a long time. However, he silenced his detractors during the Asia Cup 2022 and T20 World Cup 2022. He finished as the top run-getter in the T20 World Cup Down Under.

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"He has been given a break during some inconsequential series" - Ravichandran Ashwin on Virat Kohli

Ravichandran Ashwin. (Image Credits: Getty)

Ashwin also suggested that Kohli's success in ODIs has dictated his Test and T20 cricket form. While the veteran off-spinner agreed that India have played ODIs at a minimum, he lamented Kohli being rested needlessly at times.

"So, a mental reset is really important for anyone. Sometimes, he has been given a break during some inconsequential series. But both his Test cricket and T20 cricket have been built mainly based on his ODI cricket success," he said.

"In fact, when he is playing ODI cricket itself, he will get that Test routine and the Test flow," he added. "Our recent conversation was also about this topic only and he agreed with me. Both our team and him haven’t played many ODI cricket in the recent past. India won the first ODI comfortably, agreed."

After consecutive centuries, the 33-year-old batter perished cheaply in the second ODI against Sri Lanka in Kolkata. India and Sri Lanka will lock horns in the third ODI in Thiruvananthapuram on Sunday.