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Former South Africa cricketer AB de Villiers has a golden tip for India’s Virat Kohli to deal with weakness outside the stumps. 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 averaged less than 25 in the five Test series. He was constantly tested outside his stumps by the relentless Australian bowling attack.
Kohli’s mode of dismissals did not change as the series progressed. In his final dismissal of the series in Sydney, he was visibly frustrated and even called himself out for going for a ball outside the off-stump again.
“Reset your mind” – AB de Villiers’ advice to Virat Kohli
While speaking on the live 360 show on his X account (formerly Twitter), AB de Villiers answered some 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 weakness by recovering his mind for every ball. According to him, Kohli has the skills and experience to handle this situation and he just needs to focus and regain his mind every time he plays the next ball.
“Of course he 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 rethink, every time,” De Villiers said.
“The boy’s skill, experience and greatness are not a problem. It’s about refocusing after every ball. Maybe sometimes he gets too involved,” he added.
Australia has won #BGT to reserve a place at #WTCFinal against my Proteas. Go to today’s #360Live and let’s talk about what went wrong in India and what else is 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 focus on his game. According to him, individual battles do not allow the big Indian to concentrate on his own game.
“I think with Virat (Kohli) he gets involved with the battle on the field. That’s one of his biggest strengths and it can also be a weakness. During this series, we saw him having one-on-one battles with some of the players, the crowd it got under his skin,” noted De Villiers.
“Virat loves the fight, but when you’re not in the form of your life, it’s best to get rid of those things. As a batsman, it’s about restarting every time and realizing that every ball is an event and forget it. the bowler,” he counted.
Virat Kohli’s tough streak 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 faded from the second Test onwards.
Kohli was also involved in several altercations with the Australian players and the crowd. In the Boxing Day Test at the MCG, he was involved in a shoulder collision with Australian debutant Sam Konstas that even led to a heated argument between the two of them.
As a result, Kohli was fined 20 percent of his match fees and was also given a demerit point. The veteran was even booed on several occasions by the Australian crowd until the last Test match in Sydney.
