Former Indian skipper Virat Kohli is going through the worst phase of his cricket career. It has been over three years that the batter has hit a century in any format of the game. Not only in the international circuit, but Kohli has been struggling for runs in the IPL as well.
In 12 IPL matches so far, Virat has scored just 216 runs at an average of 19.64 and strike rate of 111.34. Also, it is the first time that he has been dismissed for a duck three times in a single series or tournament.
Seeing the batting maestro struggle on the 22-yard pitch, many veteran players and cricket pundits believe that the 33-year-old needs a break from the bio bubble. A few days back, Ravi Shastri had also advised Kohli to opt out of IPL 2022 and take some time off.
It seems that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) also has the same opinion. As a result, it is believed that the national selection committee, led by Chetan Sharma, will give Kohli a break from the upcoming South Africa series.
Following the conclusion of the T20 extravaganza, South Africa will be touring India for a five-match T20I series. Delhi, Cuttack, Visakhapatnam, Rajkot, and Bengaluru have been picked as the venues to host the games from June 09 to June 19.
A senior BCCI official confirmed the news of Virat taking a rest for the South Africa series. He also revealed that the Indian board would be giving timely breaks to all the players in the future.
"Virat Kohli, in all probability, will be rested for the South Africa series. He has been playing a lot of cricket and has been in the bubble for a long time. It has been a policy decision regarding Kohli and other senior players that they will be given periodic breaks from time to time.
Even skipper Rohit Sharma would require adequate rest with so much cricket being played. Some of the others include KL Rahul, Jasprit Bumrah, and Rishabh Pant, who all from time to time will need rest," the BCCI official said as quoted by PTI.