Former cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar has reacted to Virat Kohli’s Additional Practice session believing that the star batter must ‘settle his mind’ and not pressurise himself by overthinking a lot ahead of the Champions Trophy 2025 clash against Pakistan.
Kohli has been struggling a lot against spin bowling in ODIs and had arrived at practice a couple of hours before the others and spent a considerable time facing spinners in the nets on Saturday.
After he fell to Bangladesh spinner Rishad Hossaid in the tournament opener on Thursday, Sunil Gavaskar had also expressed his concerns over Kohli’s form.
In a visuals shared by the broadcasters, Kohli was seen practicing at the nets with local net bowlers feeding him deliveries. He looked sharp and focused, playing drives and checking his defenses with precision. The trainint took place the ICC Academy in Dubai.
“I think he is trying too hard. Coming 90 minutes earlier to practice is a sign. He can come two minutes before the match and get going. I think he is trying a bit too much,” told Manjrekar.
Meanwhile former Australia skipper Michael Clarke feels that Kohli is a big tournament player. Clarke said that he won’t be suprise if Virat Kohli scores big against Pakistan.
“I think Virat is one of those players who thrives in big tournaments. He hasn’t been in the best of form, which is why he’s training an hour and a half earlier.”
“That’s what great players do-when something doesn’t feel right, they make time to correct it before stepping onto the field,” Clarke told media.
“What I like about the Champions Trophy is that there’s no time to ease into the tournament-you have to be at your best straight away. Virat is such a great player that he might just flick that switch.”
“You might have watched him the other day and thought he wasn’t at his best, but he steps up when India need him most. Don’t be surprised if it happens against Pakistan on the big day,” the 43-year-old added.
Virat Kohli got dismissed for 22 runs off 38 deliveries during the Champions Trophy opener match against Bangladesh.
Playing 16 ODI matches against Pakistan, Virat Kohli has 678 runs including three hundreds at an average of 52.15.
The arch-rivals India and Pakistan are set to clash once again in the Champions Trophy on February 23 at Dubai International Stadium.
