I was faking intensity, says ‘mentally down’ Virat Kohli having not touched bat for a month
The Hindu
Kohli will now return to action in India's Asia Cup opener against Pakistan on August 28
The prolonged lean patch did take a toll on Virat Kohli's "mental health" as the former India captain admitted to not having touched the cricket bat during the month-long break prior to Asia Cup.
Former India skipper Virat Kohli has been out without an international hundred for nearly three years but his poor run of form did affect him as he revealed that at times he was "faking intensity" in trying to show that he is an epitome of mental strength.
"I am not shy to admit that I was feeling mentally down," the former India skipper told " Star Sports" in an episode of "Virat: Heart to Heart".
Following the tour, Kohli took a break, skipping two white-ball series in the West Indies and Zimbabwe.
"For the first time in 10 years, I didn't touch my bat for a month. I came to realisation that I was trying to fake my intensity a bit recently," Kohli said.
"I was convincing myself that no, you had the intensity. But your body was telling you to stop. The mind was telling me to take a break and step back."
Mental health issues are a reality and just like Ben Stokes said in his docu-series, Kohli also spoke about need to not keep the feelings bottled up.