In today’s encounter against Sunrisers Hyderabad, Virat Kohli was caught outside the off-stump off the first delivery he faced, as Royal Challengers Bangalore were bowled out for 68 in 16.1 overs.

RCB have won five of their first seven games, but that does not mean they have had an easy road. The biggest flaw in their system is the biggest name on their team – Virat Kohli.

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The former captain got the IPL 2022 off to a strong start, scoring 41 not out. However, he only scored 78 runs over the next seven innings.

Experts have speculated that Kohli may be “overcooked” or that his “brain is completely fried,” but whatever the cause of the former India captain’s slump, RCB will sorely hope that their finest batter returns to form soon.

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It is not just teammates, fans, and experts who are bothered by Kohli’s form, or lack thereof. Mumbai Indians player this season, Dewald Brevis, dubbed popularly as Baby AB, has also voiced his concern about the lackluster performance of the 33-year-old batter.

The 18-year-old South African, who has had a fantastic run in the league so far, took to Twitter late on Saturday. “Virat Kohli has achieved a lot in the beginning of his career, if he returns to form, he will become more stronger for the opponent, and when runs come out of his bat, the world admires him,” Brevis wrote.

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He ended his tweet with an optimistic, “will bounce back boss.” It not only shows the trust that Brevis has on Kohli as a player, but also an admiration that he holds for him.

As a seasoned and experienced player, a lot is expected from the likes of Kohli on any given day, but now specifically the burden might feel heavier than ever. Kohli has been with the RCB franchise from the start of his IPL career in 2008. When he gave up captaincy of the squad at the start of the season to manage his ‘workload,’ a general assumption in the cricket fraternity was that he would get to focus more on his game.

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Not everyone is disheartened, however. Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar puts it best when he says, “Form is invariably one innings away.”

“It’s just one of those things. When somebody goes through a bad patch, then it’s difficult. You make simple mistakes, sometimes you get a great delivery, and you get to see a great catch taken. Sometimes an inside edge goes onto stumps,” he said.

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“It’s happening to Kohli too. Kohli’s first mistake is turning out to be his last mistake. For both these players, it’s just a matter of one innings, one innings where you get to 30, once they get there, they will get the big score,” he was referring to both Kohli and his India teammate Rohit Sharma, whose performance for Mumbai Indians this season has been disappointing as well.