'Does he say the same for Rohit Sharma?': Matthew Hayden on Ravi Shastri advising Virat Kohli to take a break

Virat Kohli has endured a horrific run with the bat in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022. The Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) was expected to set the stage on fire this season having left captaincy, however, his performances have been below-par for the Faf du Plessis-led side. Kohli has managed only one half-century and has three golden ducks in 12 matches so far this season.

Kohli has so far managed to notch up 216 runs in 12 matches at an average of 19.62 and a mediocre strike rate of 111.34. The batting maestro suffered yet another failure in RCB's last game against Sunrisers Hyderabad on Sunday as he was once again dismissed on a duck. Regarded as one of the best batters in the world at present, Kohli has a forgetful IPL campaign so far this season.

Recently, former India head coach Ravi Shastri had advised Kohli to take a break from the game for his own good. Shastri, who worked with Kohli during his stint as the head coach of the Indian team, had suggested Kohli is 'overcooked' and desperately needs a break. After Kohli's dismissal against SRH on Sunday, a debate sparked in the commentary box whether the RCB star needed a break from the game.

It was then that commentator Harsha Bhogle brought up Shastri's comments about Kohli being overcooked and desperately needing a break. Former Australia cricketer Matthew Hayden, who was also in the commentary box went on to question Shastri's suggestion to Kohli and said if the former India head coach would suggest a beak to Rohit Sharma too.

Like Kohli, Rohit too hasn't enjoyed the best of form in IPL 2022 and has struggled to score runs consistently. the Mumbai Indians skipper is yet to notch up a fifty in the tournament and has only 200 runs to his name in 11 matches this season.

“Does he say the same about Rohit Sharma? I mean these guys are playing cricket all the time, of course, these tournaments, they come around so quickly, you get yourself into a mental space and Kohli has been brilliant at it for so many years, so animated, so passionate. To come off that though just for a moment and you are under pressure,” Hayden said talking about Shastri's suggestion to Kohli.

Bhogle was quick to clarify after Hayden's remarks that he brought up Shastri's comments only because he knew Kohli well having worked with him for a number of years as the head coach of the Indian team. Kohli was captain of the side during Shastri's stint as head coach from 2017 to 2021.

“The only reason I brought that up, Ravi and Virat have known each other so well over the last 3-4 years, have run a lot of campaigns together, been very good at Test cricket. He knows the inner mind,” said Bhogle.