In the build-up to Asia Cup 2022, much talk surrounds Virat Kohli’s poor form. The ex-India captain, 1000-plus days without a century, has had a wretched year. During this barren spell, his T20I form was a small source of comfort, but runs have dried here too in 2022. In 4 matches, he has a measly 81 runs, averaging 20.25 against a career average of 50.12. If four matches are a small sample, the IPL provides a broader catalogue of his downturn. 341 runs in 16 matches are dim returns for a player of his calibre. During India’s brief tour of England across formats, his highest was a twenty across six multi-format innings.

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The 33-year-old admitted to his mistakes in England but argues that he feels in good touch:

“What happened in England was a pattern, so something that I could work on, something that I had to kind of overcome. Right now there is nothing that you can point out saying that the problem is happening here. So, that for me is actually an easier thing to process because I know that I’m batting well. And at times when I start feeling that the rhythm is back then I know that I’m batting well,” stresses Kohli.

He has put in the work during his downtime. Training at BKC Complex in Mumbai, Kohli feels he has refound the batting rhythm that was absent in England:

“So, that for me is not an issue, which wasn’t the case in England; I didn’t feel like I was batting well at all. So, I had to work hard on one thing that could be exposed again and again which I overcame; right now this is not the case,” asserted the batter.

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Kohli has faced criticism from all quarters. With experts lining up to dissect his flaws and analyse his every failure, the batter is under immense scrutiny. Responding to the critics, he aimed a veiled dig:

“I know where my game stands and you cannot run this far in your international career without having the ability to counter situations and counter conditions and counter different kinds of bowling…My experiences are sacred to me. Whatever I have experienced in this phase or in the past, as well one thing that I can vouch for is that I have never valued myself more as a person.”

The Asia Cup is a crucial test for Kohli. With the T20 World Cup looming, the batter needs to find form in UAE. If he fails, there are no guarantees that he flies to Australia for the World Cup.