The much-awaited Asia Cup clash between eternal rivals India and Pakistan is just around the corner. The Asian Giants are set to collide on the 28th of August at the Dubai International Stadium. The game is set to see the return of India’s veteran batter Virat Kohli, who had been rested for the side’s previous two limited-overs tours of the West Indies and Zimbabwe.
Kohli has not been amongst the runs in the last few months and will look to regain form when he returns to the national colours in the multi-nation tournament. The star batter is spending rigorous time in the nets ahead of the high-profile clash.
The former Indian captain was seen playing some flamboyant shots during India’s practice session in Dubai. Earlier, the Indian Cricket Board shared a video where the 33-year-old was seen hitting massive sixes against the spin duo of Ravichandran Ashwin and Yuzvendra Chahal. Now, there is a new video of him which is creating all the buzz on the internet.
Reverse sweep from Kohli making everyone smile?? @imVkohli #ViratKohli? pic.twitter.com/A40m4a2vDS
— i?_A????18 (@crickohli18) August 26, 2022
Kohli is known for his textbook shots like the cover drives and straight drives. Thus, the fans went bonkers when the ace Indian batter was spotted striking Glenn Maxwell-like reverse sweep in the nets. This was a rare sight as the veteran batter is not often seen playing such shots. After that, he gave a fist pump to Yuzvendra Chahal, who was bowling at that time. The Indian all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja was also spotted smiling after the shot.
India has adopted a fearless approach to their batting after the T20 World Cup 2021 and Kohli practicing these swashbuckling shots is proof of the change in ideology. Though seeing these shots, fans have become divided as certain section wants the former skipper to be this aggressive while many are of the opinion that he should stick to his orthodox shots.
It is known that Kohli was mentally down for the last few months and took a break following the England series. In a video released by Star Sports, Kohli revealed that it was very important for him to take time off from cricket and focus on his mental well-being. He also stated that it was for the first time in the last 10 years when he didn’t pick up a bat.
“”For the first time in 10 years, I didn’t touch my bat for a month. I came to realisation that I was trying to fake my intensity a bit recently. I was convincing myself that no, you had the intensity. But your body was telling you to stop. The mind was telling me to take a break and step back. I’m looked at as a guy who is mentally very strong and I am. But everyone has a limit and you need to recognize that limit, otherwise things can get unhealthy for you. This period taught me a lot of things that I wasn’t allowing to come to surface. When they eventually came up, I embraced it”, said Kohli.
