The former England captain Kevin Pietersen is of the opinion that the reason why Virat Kohli was out of form for a couple of years during the COVID pandemic was because the games were being played behind closed doors.
Virat Kohli is now back in form in almost all formats of the game and yesterday night in Hyderabad, he scored an IPL hundred as well against SRH. It was Kohli’s first IPL hundred after 2016. Pietersen was commentating while Kohli completed his hundred and he showered praise on the talismanic batsman.
According to Pietersen, Virat Kohli is the type of character who is an entertainer and he always wants people in the stands. He feeds off the energy and the atmosphere in the stands and when the stands were empty or partially full at times, Kohli didn’t quite enjoy himself and that’s why his form went downhill during that period.
Personal form of Virat Kohli had dipped after cricket resumed from COVID lockdown in 2020
When cricket resumed after a 6-month gap due to COVID in 2020, India created history by beating Australia in Australia for the second time in a row, but the personal form of Virat Kohli, who was the captain of India at that point of time, took a major hit, as he struggled to score consistently in all formats of the game.
Kohli then had to step aside as India’s captain as well and it seemed at one stage that it might be the beginning of the end of a glorious career, but in the last 12 to 18 months, Kohli has made a magnificent comeback with the bat.
Kevin Pietersen believes since the people are back in the stadium now and the stadiums have electric atmosphere again, it has helped Kohli get into his own and he has started enjoying being out there on the field again, which is reflecting in his performances.
