'Just human nature'- Ricky Ponting recalls his mental health issues as he rallies behind Virat Kohli
Ricky Ponting offers his take on Virat Kohli's struggles.
Australian cricketing icon Ricky Ponting recently offered fans some insight into his personal struggles with mental health while discussing the issues that Virat Kohli has faced in recent times.
Virat Kohli, who was previously quite outspoken about the essence of mental health awareness, was forced to take a step back and recoup before making his way back to active contention in the latest edition of the Asia Cup. The break from cricket was prompted by a need for some rest for Kohli, who is currently experiencing a century drought.
During an interaction on the ICC Review, Ponting admitted that he had faced a similar situation back in the day, albeit at a much lower scale. However, he assured fans, and Kohli, that it was a very normal part of life to experience such issues.
"I sort of faced it in the last couple of years of my career where my career tapered off quite quickly... It was almost, the harder I work, the worse I got. I was so focused and conscious on being perfect and doing things exactly right, thinking I had to do that to get the best out of myself, but all I was doing was putting pressure on myself and not letting myself play the game the way I always played it. I reckon it might be a bit of that creeping in with Virat as well.
"It's just human nature when things aren't going the way you want, you push harder, you try harder, and the harder you try the harder it gets," Ponting asserted.
The 47-year-old subsequently admitted that taking a month off is something that will truly have helped Kohli get his thoughts in order and make a triumphant return to the cricket pitch.
His first match against Pakistan was no memorable outing for the former Indian skipper, he put on an impressive performance against Hong Kong, recording a long-awaited half-century. Although this may not necessarily mean that the Kohli that fans knew and loved is back, it certainly means that things are moving in the right direction.