De Villiers advises Kohli to ‘reset’ mindset and avoid on-field battles

Following the hundred in the series opener, Kohli's troubles outside the off-stump compounded as he was caught in the slip cordon eight times over the course of five Tests

Johannesburg: Virat Kohli’s former Royal Challengers Bengaluru teammate AB de Villiers has advised the struggling Indian batter to “reset” his mind and avoid on-field battles as he concluded a horror tour of Australia.

Kohli and Rohit Sharma were woefully out of form during the just-concluded Test series against Australia. The 1-3 series defeat resulted in the team losing out on qualifying for the World Test Championship final.

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Kohli could manage only 190 runs in his nine innings in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, repeatedly offering edges to the slip cordon or keeper. “I think the thing is to reset your mind every time. Virat loves the fight, but when you’re not in the form of your life, it’s best to get rid of those things. As a batter, it is to reset every single and understand every ball is an event and just forget about the bowler,” de Villiers said in a video he posted on ‘X’.

“I think sometimes Virat forgets about that because of his fighting spirit and the nature of the man wanting to be involved and show the whole of India he is there to fight for them,” the South African batting legend added.

“The skill, experience and greatness of the guy (Kohli) are not an issue. It’s sometimes about the refocus after every single ball. Maybe sometimes he gets involved too much.” Australia beat India by six wickets in the fifth and final Test at the SCG to regain the Border Gavaskar Trophy.

Following the hundred in the series opener, Kohli’s troubles outside the off-stump compounded as he was caught in the slip cordon eight times over the course of five Tests. The tour that got over on Sunday was probably Kohli’s last in Australia. “I think with Virat, he gets involved with the battle on the field. That’s one of his biggest strengths and it can also be a weakness. During this series, we saw him have individual battles with some of the players, the crowd got under his skin,” De Villiers said.

“Every single batter in the world has some sort of weakness or some dismissals that keep coming up. Of course, Virat can overcome his problem and come back to form. “It takes a lot of character, a lot of hunger, lot of hours in the nets. I think the thing is to reset your mind, every time,” the South African urged Kohli.