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The former RCB skipper, Faf du Plessis backs Virat Kohli to re-discover his best form amidst concerns over his abilities of late.
Virat Kohli and Faf du Plessis . (Picture Credit: Sportzpics)
The former skipper of the Royal Challengers Bengaluru, Faf du Plessis reckons that his ex-teammate, Virat Kohli will be ‘super motivated’ to get back to his best batting form and has backed the Indian icon to get out of this rut.
“I know someone like him is super super motivated, he’s gone through it all before, so he knows exactly what to do,” du Plessis told PTI on the sidelines of the SA20 Season 3’s Captain’s Day.
He also revealed that a decision like retirement is a very ‘personal choice’ for any athlete.
Kohli has had a disappointing tour Down Under. He amassed just 190 runs at an average of 23.75 across five Tests, despite starting with a ton in Perth for the opening Test.
“It is different for every player. Every player needs to answer that question. I remember when that time was for me,” he added.
Du Plessis reflected on his international career and how he had decided to step away from the longest format and allow new members to have a crack at it.
“I just knew that certainly from the Test cricket perspective for me. I didn’t have that same hunger and drive anymore and I felt that that stage certainly for me was a good time to let new guys come in and also step into the T20 world,” he shared.
“I wanted to do that at the stage where I still felt like I was on top of my game,” he added.
He also shared his take on a possible two-tiered system for the longest format being introduced by the ICC. The former captain is not pleased with the suggestion and feels that the imbalance in the number of games is a big problem.
“No, I think we need the game to be healthy. We saw over the last few years the value that was put on Test cricket by Australia, England and India making sure that there were 4-5 Test series,” he commented.
“When you look at the other teams, there are two Test matches here and there and playing six Test matches a season. I do not think that is healthy for the game,” he offered.
“As long as we can look at Test cricket as (being) important, you just look at all the Test matches that took place over the last few weeks, some incredible matches have been played,” Du Plessis noted.
(with PTI Inputs)
