'He was set to break Sachin Tendulkar's record' - Ex-Pakistan captain opines on Virat Kohli's struggles

Virat Kohli's form has become a huge talking point in world cricket. The 33-year-old has been without an international century since late 2019. In fact, he has now completed over 100 matches across formats, including IPL 2022, without a triple-figure mark.

While Kohli has contributed with half-centuries, mainly in white-ball formats, his struggles have been evident from time to time. In IPL 15, he has only one fifty-plus score and has amassed216 runs at an average of 21.60 and a strike rate of 111.91. Many former cricketers such as Ravi Shastri, Kevin Pietersen, Parthiv Patel, Virender Sehwag, Ian Bishop, etc. have commented on Kohli's struggles. Now, former Pakistan captain and wicketkeeper-batter Rashid Latif has joined the bandwagon and made a big statement.

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"Every player goes through this phase, some come out of it early, some take a long. Guys like Kohli have more pressure because they are attractions. Ravi Shastri and others have suggested rest but Virat Kohli knows best."

"When he was in form, he would score heaps of runs. The way he used to perform, Virat was set to break Sachin Tendulkar's record with ease, he had scored so many hundreds. He took it to the extreme. But now when he is dealing with bad form, that too has come at extreme, that too has peaked,"Latif said on his Youtube show'caught-behind.'

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Reflecting on Kohli's struggles in the 15th season of the IPL, Latif added, "He has to come out of this rough patch himself. Everyone has the belief in him and he will come back, and the day he realised it himself, he will start doing it. Against Gujarat Titans, he has started doing it (Kohli scored a 53-ball 58). I could see that touch,"

"In the last few games, there were a few inside-edged and things like that but the other day against GT, he hit a couple of crisp drives, played Shami well, and he looks on good touch. If he can continue doing it, runs will come," concluded Latif.

To back Latif's claims, it did look realistically possible for Kohli to breakor come near Tendulkar's tally of international tons (100). In late 2019, Kohli had registered his 70th century. While he can get back to form and deliver the goods as he used to earlier, it seems unlikely that Kohli will now come close to Tendulkar's tally.