Virat Kohli's 'mental block' totally exposed by Ricky Ponting

Former Australia National Cricket Team player Ricky Ponting talked about the struggles of Virat Kohli in the longest format of the game. He said that the batter is trying so hard and it actually is making batting harder for him.

India National Cricket Team batter Virat Kohli has been struggling a lot in Test cricket of late. The premier batter failed in the entire home season, along with the five-match Test series against the Australia National Cricket Team down under, and following that, his place in the team too has come under the scanner.

Virat Kohli fails to get going in Tests of late

While it was spin that got better off Virat Kohli in home Tests, the balls outside off stump brought his downfall in the Australia conditions. After a lean patch at home, the premier batter started the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25 on high as he hit a magnificent century in Perth, but after that, it was a forgettable tour for him.

Virat Kohli consistently got out to balls outside off and after that century in Perth, he managed just 90 runs in the last 4 games. The batter faced a lot of criticism for his poor run in the series and there were even calls related to his retirement in the longest format of the game.

He's trying so hard that that actually makes batting harder - Ricky Ponting on Virat Kohli

Ricky Ponting, while talking about the struggles of Virat Kohli, said that the harder he will try, the less success he will have. He cited his example, saying that during his lean patch, he was thinking more about not getting out rather than scoring runs. He also added that when he was at his best he didn't think any of it. Speaking to ICC, he explained:

"The challenge is, and I can see it with Virat now, you can see how much he wants it. He's trying so hard that that actually makes batting harder. The harder you try sometimes with batting, the less success you're to have. I started thinking more about not getting out rather than scoring runs.

"And that might sound strange, but that's what it was. I was trying to be so perfect, set the right example, and play exactly the way my team needed me all the time. But when I was playing my best, I didn't think about any of that. I just walked out and thought about scoring runs."

There's some mental block there that's making him feel for that one outside the off-stump - Ricky Ponting on Virat Kohli

Ricky Ponting further added that Virat Kohli chasing the balls outside off is a mental issue. He also believes that the batter, amid all his struggles, will be of great help to the young Indian players. He added:

“If I got a half volley, I drove it. If I got a short ball, I pulled it. And I can just see a little bit of that with Virat now, where even the way that he's getting out, you can see he doesn't want to be playing at those balls. He's trying not to do it, but there's some mental block there that's making him feel for that one outside the off-stump.”

"I did play for maybe two years longer than I should have. But that wasn't anything to do with me. I continued to play on to try and help the younger group of players coming through, sort of integrate into international cricket and almost be like a coach and a senior figure around the team to help them through because Mike Hussey was retiring as well.

"And [I thought] we're going to be left with not a lot of experienced guys, but guys like Smith, Warner, Lyon had all these young guys coming in at once.”

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