Asia Cup 2022 LIVE – Virat Kohli New Bat: Virat Kohli will play his 100th T20I match with a new bat, MRF Gold Wizard. He will switch from MRF Genius. The 100th match will interestingly be against Pakistan on August 28. But this time, focus will be on Kohli’s form rather everything else. Kohli is going through a rather long lean patch and will hope to hit top gear in the Asia Cup 2022. Follow India vs Pakistan LIVE Updates on InsideSport.IN.
The 1.15kilogram bat is slightly heavier than Kohli’s existing willow which weighs around 1.1kilogram. The lighter weight helps Kohli change the trajectory of a shot at the last moment. The new bat was revealed by YouTube channel Sports Launchpad.
Kohli is one of the gifted batters with brilliant wrist movements. But the minor change in weight could also help him hit the balls longer.
Asia Cup 2022 LIVE: Virat Kohli switches to new MRF Gold Wizard BAT for Asia Cup cricket, seeks change in fortunes on 100th T20I, Follow LIVE Updates
Both Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag used heavier bats of around 1.35kg. While Tendulkar never resorted to longer shots, Sehwag utilised his bat well in playing quickfire knocks.
Virat Kohli similarly has been working in the gym to develop his muscles and strengthen his upper body to play with littler heavier bats. The change in bat could indicate a shift in approach.
Kohli has made a little tweak to his batting, going on the attack from first ball. While that did not help him in the IPL 2022, the long hours of practice and the change in his but could hopefully do the trick. The former Indian captain has looked in good touch but has been either poor with shots selection or has been dismissed on some good deliveries.
“What happened in England was a pattern, so something that I could work on and something that I had to kind of overcome. Right now, as you rightly mentioned, there is nothing that you can point out saying that the problem is happening here. So, that for me, is an easier thing to process because I know that I’m batting well and at times, when I start feeling that rhythm back, then I know that I’m batting well,” Virat Kohli said on Star Sports show ‘Game Plan.’
Asia Cup 2022 LIVE: Virat Kohli switches to new MRF Gold Wizard BAT for Asia Cup cricket, seeks change in fortunes on 100th T20I, Follow LIVE Updates
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Asia Cup 2022 LIVE: What has gone wrong with Virat Kohli?
- The first thing that everyone including Sunil Gavaskar has pointed out is the lack of self-confidence.
- Kohli hasn’t looked his self since the pandemic-induced break.
- The six months without any cricket or practice hurt him the most as he lost his rhythm.
- To get out of the slump, Kohli tried to be more attacking.
- But instead, he suffered. A flurry of golden ducks included playing shots early with timings all over the place.
- While he showed glimpses of his class, he failed to sustain that for long.
- He stepped down from all captaincy duties to deal with his form but that did not help in anyway.
- Instead, he failed to get his head position right while trying to play his signature cover drives and more often than not gave away his wicket.
- The non-stop nature of cricket since then hasn’t even given Kohli time to rectify his mistakes.
- He decided to take a month-long break to get things in order before the Asia Cup 2022.
Asia Cup 2022 LIVE: Virat Kohli switches to new MRF Gold Wizard BAT for Asia Cup cricket, seeks change in fortunes on 100th T20I, Follow LIVE Updates
Virat Kohli further said that he felt he didn’t bat well in England and needed to work hard on his batting.
“So, that for me is not an issue, which wasn’t the case in England. I didn’t feel like I was batting well at all. So, I had to work hard on one thing that could be exposed again and again which I overcame. Right now this is not the case,” he added.
“I know where my game stands and you cannot run this far in your international career without having the ability to counter situations and counter conditions and counter different kinds of bowling. So, this for me, is an easier phase to process, but I don’t want to put this phase behind me. I want to learn from it and I want to understand what are the core values that I have, as a sportsperson and as a human being,” he said.
Asia Cup 2022 LIVE: Virat Kohli switches to new MRF Gold Wizard BAT for Asia Cup cricket, seeks change in fortunes on 100th T20I, Follow LIVE Updates
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