'Virat Kohli actually needed mental break more than anything else' - MSK Prasad on star batter's prolonged rough patch

After struggling with the bat for a long period of time, former India skipper Virat Kohli took a much-needed mental health break right before the Asia Cup 2022. Soon after his return, the ‘King’ of Indian cricket regained his form and ended up as the second-leading run-scorer in the Asia Cup and the leading run-scorer in the T20 World Cup.

Sharing his reaction to Virat’s marvellous return to international cricket, the former chief selector MSK Prasad stated he (Virat) player desperately needed a mental health break to rebuild himself. He believes that even the greatest of players go through these kinds of situations, and Virat for sure knew how to overcome that.

“Even the great players will have certain times where their curve will be a bit down. These players have done well for the country for nearly 10-15 years, so they know how to come back if they lose their form. He actually needed a mental break more than anything else. He had a little bit of a tough time, but he kept on playing so that has piled up a lot,” MSK Prasad told Rediff.com.

“I felt he should have taken a break long time back, maybe soon after the (T20) World Cup (2021). Ever since he has taken the break before the Asia Cup (in 2022), we have got back the original Virat Kohli, whom we saw scoring lot of runs like in 2016,” he added.

The break has actually pushed his career forward by 4-5 years: Prasad

The 47-year-old also stated that Kohli is at his best at the moment. He believes that the break has pushed the his(Virat's) career by 4-5 years and everyone can once again see the old form of the run machine.

“He is at his best now, he is in the right frame of mind. I am sure the tough times he has gone through in the last couple of years will only make him a better player and a stronger personality."

"I feel the break has actually pushed his career forward by 4-5 years. He is that sort of character who needs challenges, and he has accepted that challenge and gone through. He took a lovely break and he understood himself well and we have got back the Virat Kohli of the old,” concluded Prasad.

For a better experience: Download the CricTracker app from the IOS App Store and Google Play Store