Royal Challengers Bangalore’s (RCB) journey in the 2022 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) came to an end on Friday against the Rajasthan Royals (RR). RCB openers’ Virat Kohli and skipper Faf du Plessis’ poor returns in the powerplay on many occasions was one of the reasons for the side’s inconsistent run with the bat and Friday was another example of the same.
Rajat Patidar’s sensational couple of games single-handedly helped RCB post a match-winning score in the Eliminator and a respectable total in the second qualifier, however, the push that they needed from the big guns was missing.
Kohli especially has had his worst season with the bat in the IPL since 2009. Kohli has averaged 22.73 in 16 games he has played and scored just 341 runs, which included just two fifties and three first-ball ducks. While many including former India head coach Ravi Shastri has said that Kohli should take a break, former England captain Michael Vaughan too has jumped on the bandwagon.
Speaking on Cricbuzz, Vaughan said, “He is a legendary player who is going through a phase that is not too easy. Two or three years ago you just turned on the telly or arrived at the ground and knew that Virat was going to score a hundred. He just went through one of those periods where every time he batter he seemed to get a hundred. It’s a career, isn’t it? You don’t go through your whole career where everything is so easy.
“He just needs a breather. Go and get some time with your family, get on the plane to England and then start to hit some balls again,” he added.
Vaughan mentioned that Kohli is too good a player to be going through a lean patch like that for too long and he will return to his best if he comes back fresh and rejuvenated after spending some time off.
“It is just that little bit harder at the minute and he has got to work so hard to get back into form. But I think at the minute, he should just pack his bat into his bag and go and a sit-down with the family. I don’t know where he can go without getting hassled and pestered, doing commercials. Just get away from all that, have a few weeks of chilling and he will be fresh when he picks the bat up,” said Vaughan further.
