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I am feeling confident, says Kohli

Last Updated 16 October 2014, 18:28 IST

 These are difficult times for Virat Kohli. The poster boy of Indian cricket is undergoing his roughest patch with the willow after the stupendous success of four years.

The experience for the 25-year-old is, therefore, humbling to stay the least. The swagger is missing, so is his trademark aggressiveness. 

Amidst all the talk about his sagging form, Kohli has been working hard to recover his batting flair. With a 62 at Kotla, Kohli showed the flicker of form which has deserted him since the England series.  

Ahead of the fourth ODI match, he said he finally had regained the confidence and mental clarity which would take care of all the talks about his technique. “I think as a cricketer you find out things about your game which you probably are not aware of when you are playing well. It is only when you don’t score runs and you are getting out in a particular way that you need to address those issues,” Kohli told reporters on Thursday.

 “Over the past two weeks I have had two different camps where I really worked hard on my game and on the areas that I needed to improve. Your technique is only as good as how good you are feeling mentally. If you are feeling mentally good your technique is perfect because you are scoring runs. If you are not feeling mentally confident, doesn’t matter how technically correct you are, you will find it difficult to score runs at the international level.

“Last game I felt good, stuck to the plans I wanted to and looking to attack the bowler. Atleast, I am feeling mentally clear and confident. When I am playing well and mentally confident, I don’t find any difficulty playing any bowler at any condition in the world.” His lean patch, he admitted, had made him mentally stronger.

“The moment I don’t score runs in two or three innings, people start telling me that you are due for a big score. They totally forget the last four-five years of all three formats of the game where I have been scoring consistently. Every innings counts for me and sometimes I think people need to respect that we are humans and not machines. I have learnt a lot and have seen people change completely - 360 degrees - which is not surprising.”

Kohli credited the new director of Indian team Ravi Shastri for instilling confidence in him. “He is doing what a lot of people choose not to do -- that is giving confidence to the team no matter what situation we are in or what kind of opposition you are playing or what format you are playing. That I think is the most important thing.

Criticising a team or demolishing a team is the easiest thing in the world to do but it is great to have someone who can stand up and give you that confidence,” he said.

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(Published 16 October 2014, 18:28 IST)

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