Former left-arm wrist spinner Brad Hogg has remarked that Virat Kohli’s constant failure is connected to his workload off the field. The veteran hasn’t been in good touch in recent months, especially in the longest format, having been dismissed repeatedly on successive occasions.
Virat Kohli could manage only 93 runs in six innings at an average of 15.50 against New Zealand at home in the recent series, where he could celebrate only one half-century during the second innings of the series opener at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. He made a cracking start to the Border Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) 2024-25 down under with a second-innings century at the Optus Stadium in Perth.
The expectations were high from the batter, who was expected to make his last Test tour to Australia. But the dark old clouds returned, as the Delhi-born finished the five-match series with 190 runs in nine innings, including that century. The Australians, especially Scott Boland, found the right line and length to eliminate the batter.
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Brad Hogg reckoned that Virat has been playing a lot of cricket in the last few months, including the Indian Premier League (IPL), the T20 World Cup 2024, the two-Test series, and at home against Bangladesh and the Blackcaps, before making the Australian trip, besides his off-field addition treatments.
“Virat Kohli has got too much on his plate”- Brad Hogg
Having been the face of the game in the last quite a few years, Kohli is the most followed cricketer on Instagram, which makes him the face of world cricket, especially in the advertisement process, something which the ICC did in promoting the game in the United States of America during the recent 20-over event.
“And then suddenly, he’s got a family now. He’s got other commitments off the field that he didn’t have when he was dominating all three formats around the globe. So, it’s not just about the cricket, it’s what happening off the field as well.” Brad Hogg expressed in a video shared on his YouTube channel.
“I think it’s more the drama off-field than on-field (for) Virat Kohli. I just think he’s just got too much on his plate that’s probably caused him to not perform as well at this moment.” The former Western Australian spinner highlighted.
Kohli finished the last year with just 417 runs in 19 Test innings at an average of 24.52 and a strike rate of 61.96 with the help of one half-century and as many centuries. His average away from home has dropped to 41.50 in the longest format with 4774 runs in 119 innings, thanks to 16 centuries and 18 half-centuries.
Brad Hogg has shed light on the additional burden of being loyal to his Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) franchise in the IPL. The latter started the BGT 2024-25 with a Test average of around 53 in Australia, which was pushed down to 47 after five struggling games.
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“I think it’s probably more the volume of cricket that’s been played out at the present moment because you try, and play as much you can for India in all three formats. And then you got the IPL, and it is extended for a week or two as well.” Brad Hogg stated.
“So, there’s a lot of pressure there as well because owners are spending big money on players in the IPL. Virat Kohli is the elite player at RCB. So, there’s a lot of pressure on him there.” The 53-year-old, Brad Hogg, concluded.