/betbarter/media/agency_attachments/3YXcMKaocLoKtpo5Mw2o.png)
/betbarter/media/post_banners/XM9pGLsOD64EuDnEOx1T.png)
Virat Kohli-Rajkumar Sharma (Image source- Twitter)
The Indian team is preparing to face England in the rescheduled fifth Test match. With the series on the line, all eyes will be on India to win the crucial match. To make an influence on the match, the batters will need to perform well under these conditions. Virat Kohli, in particular, will be under scrutiny because of his recent lack of form.
The veteran cricketer has been going through a tough time as runs are not coming easy for him. The 33-year-old has been waiting for his 71st international century for over two and a half years. The former Bangalore captain also had a disappointing Indian T20 League 2022 season, scoring 341 runs in 16 innings, including two half-centuries.
Rajkumar Sharma, Virat Kohli's boyhood coach, believes the former India captain must return to his natural game in order to regain his rhythm. He acknowledged that it had been a long time since Kohli hit a century, but he believes the drought will end soon.
"Currently it is required for Virat to play his natural game and make a big score, which he is searching for a long time. I have full hope that he will do that soon because it has been a long time," Rajkumar told India News.
"It has not been seen often in Virat’s entire career that he has such a long lean patch, in terms of triple figures, he has definitely scored runs otherwise, but his conversion rate was exceptional earlier, once he used to reach 30-35 runs, everyone used to believe that he will score big, a hundred will definitely be scored but lately that has not happened," he added.
Rajkumar discussed Kohli's on-field rivalry with former England captain Joe Root in terms of outscoring each other. The 57-year-old stated that while players are thinking about the rivalry in their spare time, they should forget about it when they get onto the pitch.
"Both are fantastic players. A healthy rivalry is always there at the back of the mind, that he has come close to you or has gone ahead of you, or you are close to the other person’s record. You definitely think about it while sitting in the hotel or the dressing room.
"You forget this rivalry when you go across the boundary line, then you only wait for the next ball and you have to see how to score your runs. You don’t get Joe Root or anyone else in your mind," he said.