Mohammad Kaif says Virat Kohli will play with ‘fresh mind’ in IPL as he is retired in Test matches: ‘He will make it known to his critics that he is Virat Kohli’

"He is even playing aggressively in white-ball now, the strike-rate is there," Kaif said

Since retiring from the red-ball format, Virat Kohli’s approach to ODIs has changed. The batter who got into his innings through the rotation of the strike and then accelerated started to play his shots from early on. But can the same be seen for Royal Challengers Bengaluru? Where his strike rate been under question at times. Former RCB player Mohammad Kaif feels that the lack of Test cricket will keep his mind fresh, and the veteran batter will answer his critics now.

“It will not make a difference. In fact, it will benefit him as he is coming from a break with a fresh mind. Making that switch is normal for him as he has been doing it for years even for India. I would say it would be difficult if it was some other batter. Look at the IPL before he took T20I retirement, he scored there. He won the MOM in the final then. There are very few players who can adjust that switch.

“This period, specially Test retirement, has not been easy for him. He is even playing aggressively in white-ball now, the strike-rate is there. He has improved his game and now he has fixed his mind that till he plays, he will make it known to his critics that he is Virat Kohli,” he said on his YouTube channel.

Kaif also said Kohli will not tolerate any complacency from his team members. “Virat Kohli will not accept any complacency. They will not take it lightly, having won the title. Kohli always starts from zero. I am not talking about Patidar here. If Kohli sees that someone is not putting that effort or that energy is not there, he will be the first one to call people and tell them we are here to win. Till you have a player like him, no one can take the nets or matches lightly. He will take nothing less than a trophy now. In terms of commitment, he is going to keep everyone on their toes. He will come in with a lot of hunger and the will to make winning a habit now,” he expressed.

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Since retiring from the red-ball format, Virat Kohli’s approach to ODIs has changed. The batter who got into his innings through the rotation of the strike and then accelerated started to play his shots from early on. But can the same be seen for Royal Challengers Bengaluru? Where his strike rate been under question at times. Former RCB player Mohammad Kaif feels that the lack of Test cricket will keep his mind fresh, and the veteran batter will answer his critics now.

“It will not make a difference. In fact, it will benefit him as he is coming from a break with a fresh mind. Making that switch is normal for him as he has been doing it for years even for India. I would say it would be difficult if it was some other batter. Look at the IPL before he took T20I retirement, he scored there. He won the MOM in the final then. There are very few players who can adjust that switch.

“This period, specially Test retirement, has not been easy for him. He is even playing aggressively in white-ball now, the strike-rate is there. He has improved his game and now he has fixed his mind that till he plays, he will make it known to his critics that he is Virat Kohli,” he said on his YouTube channel.

Kaif also said Kohli will not tolerate any complacency from his team members. “Virat Kohli will not accept any complacency. They will not take it lightly, having won the title. Kohli always starts from zero. I am not talking about Patidar here. If Kohli sees that someone is not putting that effort or that energy is not there, he will be the first one to call people and tell them we are here to win. Till you have a player like him, no one can take the nets or matches lightly. He will take nothing less than a trophy now. In terms of commitment, he is going to keep everyone on their toes. He will come in with a lot of hunger and the will to make winning a habit now,” he expressed.