Former South African cricketer AB de Villiers has a golden tip for India's Virat Kohli to tackle the weakness off the off-stump. De Villiers also feels that Kohli needs to focus more on his batting rather than trying to engage with the opposition players.
Virat Kohli has had disappointing returns in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy where he has averaged less than 25 in the five Test series. He was constantly tested outside his off-stump by the relentless Australian bowling attack.
Kohli's manner of dismissal did not change as the series went on. In his last dismissal of the series in Sydney, he was visibly frustrated and even shouted at himself for going for a ball outside the off-stump again.
'Reset your mind' – AB de Villiers' advice to Virat Kohli
While speaking on the 360 live show on his X (formerly Twitter) account, AB de Villiers answered a few questions from his fans. During this show, he was asked about Virat Kohli's weakness off-stump and how the Indian star can overcome it.
De Villiers backed Virat Kohli to overcome the frailty by restoring sanity for every ball. According to him, Kohli has the skills and experience to handle this situation and he just needs to focus and reset his mind every time he plays the next ball.
“Of course it can. Every batsman in the world has some kind of weakness. It takes a lot of character, a lot of hunger, a lot of hours in the nets. I think the thing is to reset your mind, every time,” De Villiers said.
“The guy's skill, experience and greatness is not an issue. It's about refocusing after every ball. Maybe sometimes he gets too involved,” he added.
Australia won #BGT to reserve a seat in #WTCFinal against my Proteas. Jump to today's #360Live and let's talk about what went wrong for India and what's going on in the world of cricket… https://t.co/OydSB92xZE
— AB de Villiers (@ABdeVilliers17) January 5, 2025
AB de Villiers advises Virat Kohli not to get involved in altercations
The legendary South African batsman further advised Virat Kohli not to get involved in any altercation at this stage and rather focus on his game. According to him, individual battles do not allow the great Indian to focus on his own game.
“I think with Virat (Kohli), he gets involved in the battle on the field. That's one of his biggest strengths and it can also be a weakness. In this series, we've seen him have one-on-one battles with some of the players , the crowd got under his skin,” remarked De Villiers.
“Virat loves fighting, but when you're not in the form of your life, it's best to get rid of those things. As a batsman, it means resetting every time and realizing that every ball is an event and forgetting about the bowler, he reckons.
Virat Kohli's Tough Run in BGT 2024-25
Virat Kohli scored 190 runs in five Tests at an average of 23.75 in the 2024-25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy. He scored a hundred in the first Test at Perth, but his numbers disappeared from the second Test onwards.
Kohli was also involved in various altercations with the Australian players and the crowd. In the Boxing Day Test at the MCG, he was found in a shoulder collision with Australia debutant Sam Konstas, which even led to a heated argument between the two.
As a result, Kohli was fined 20% of his match fees and was also given a demerit point. The veteran was even booed several times by the Australian crowd until the last Test match in Sydney.