IND vs ZIM 2022: “Best way to come out of the rut is by playing”- Sanjay Manjrekar explains why Virat Kohli shouldn’t be rested too much

Former India captain Virat Kohli is going through a tough phase in his career. While centuries seem to have dried up since November 2019, Kohli has failed to score even fifties consistently over the past few months.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India's (BCCI) decision to rest him for the West Indies and Zimbabwe tours ahead of the Asia Cup and ICC T20 World Cup has raised eyebrows.

A section of the fans felt that Kohli would've scored big against these lower-ranked teams, which would helped him get his form back. As fans expressed disappointment at Virat Kohli’s break, ex-India cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar joined in by saying that a player can only improve by playing through their rough patch.

In an interview with ‘SPORTS18’ show ‘SPORTS OVER THE TOP’, Sanjay Manjrekar explained why Virat Kohli should play more often than not to get out of the rut.

He took the example of Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who has made a strong comeback to Team India after a lean phase with the ball.

Manjrekar said:

“Bhuvneshwar Kumar recently gave an interview, and he is at his peak at the moment. Eighteen months back, we thought he may not have an international career. But, he has bounced back superbly and is a certainty to make the T20 world cup squad. And he said, the more I bowl, the more I got my rhythm."

He added:

"I think they should have played Virat Kohli in every International match possible, whatever the format because Virat has had his breaks. People are advocating that he should take some breaks and he's had his breaks.”

The former Indian batter also said:

“If you look at the last two years, he's not played a lot of International cricket. Maybe there's some logic there that we don't know about. Maybe they had a chat with Virat Kohli, but my personal view is the more Virat Kohli would’ve played and especially these matches would've been better for him and Bhuvneshwar Kumar clearly has said like it is with a lot of players when you're going through a rut, the best way to come out of the rut is by playing. So, hopefully, that will happen soon.”

Virat Kohli yet to score a half-century in his last 6 innings

The 33-year-old had a dismal tour of England. He registered a string of low scores across formats. After managing just 11 and 20 in the fifth Test, he returned with figures of one and 11 in T20Is and 16 and 17 in the ODIs.

His only fifty on the tour came against Leicestershire during the warm-up game. Fans are waiting with bated breath to watch Kohli return to his prime in the upcoming Asia Cup and T20 World Cup.

Virat Kohli in last two years across formats:

The right-handed batter, who has scored 70 tons in international cricket, is facing a race against time to return to his purple patch. His average has nearly halved across formats as compared to his entire career average. Check out his stats in the last two years:

ODIs: 304 runs in 11 matches @27.6 (two fifties)

T20Is: 380 runs in 14 games @27.1 (one fifty)

Tests: 756 runs in 15 matches @29.07 (five fifties)